


Living In The Summer Sun

by Jgem87



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-01
Updated: 2012-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-15 10:07:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 25,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/526109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jgem87/pseuds/Jgem87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katniss goes to visit her aunt and uncle every summer at their house by the beach. She mostly spends time with Prim and her friend Gale. However, Prim is not going this year and Gale seems to have more than just friendly intentions for Katniss. To make matters even more complicated, a new family had recently moved down the street and the youngest son (Peeta) seems to want to get to know Katniss. She is torn between the guy she always thought of as just a friend, and the intriguing new guy who is threatening to steal her heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Summer Begins

As I entered the airport straight off of the plane, I anxiously looked around for my Uncle Robert and my Aunt Marie. They were supposed to pick me up to take me to their home along the beach for the summer.

My father died when I was eleven and his older brother and his wife decided to move next to the ocean the following summer. Ever since then, my sister Primrose and I had spent every summer with our aunt and uncle.

However, Prim was not with me this year. She had just graduated from middle school and was attending some summer camp for upcoming freshmen who were intellectually superior. I wasn't surprised that she had been chosen for the camp, but I was sad that she wasn't going to be spending the summer with me.

I stood on my tiptoes, trying to find my burly uncle with his thinning brown hair or my slender aunt with her curly blond hair. I strained to get through the crowd of people in the airport, almost worried about where my aunt and uncle might be.

"Catnip! Over here!"

I whipped my head around to see my friend Gale standing about ten feet away from me. I was surprised to see him, but happy, so I smiled.

Gale came rushing over and swept me into a fierce hug. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself, now let go, you're crushing my lungs!"

He chuckled and released me, placing a small kiss on my cheek. "Sorry about that, I'm just excited to see you again."

I grinned back at him. "I'm excited too, but I thought my aunt and uncle were coming to pick me up?"

"They were, but right as they were about to leave, I realized where they were going and insisted on picking you up myself. You aren't upset by that, are you?"

I shook my head. "No! Not at all. It was a nice surprise. Let's go get my bags so we can head out."

Gale placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to the baggage claim.

Gale and his family were my aunt and uncle's next door neighbors. I had met him the very first summer when I was there. He was fourteen and I was twelve and after bickering over every little thing for a few days, we soon became good friends.

Now, I was eighteen and had just graduated from high school. Gale was twenty now and working at a restaurant to pay for community college.

We laughed and reminisced about our adventures together during previous summers on our way to the baggage claim and then to Gale's beat up old car. He helped me in and threw my bags in the trunk before transporting us back to town.

When we finally arrived at my aunt and uncle's house, I was overcome by how much I had missed the place. Their house was directly along the beach, a solid looking, gray colored Cape Cod style home that was picture perfect.

"Katniss!" My uncle greeted me with a hug and a big smile.

"Hi dear. Oh, you look so grown up!" My aunt embraced me as well.

"Hey, I've missed you two!"

After reunited with my relatives, Gale helped me lug my stuff up into the room that I always used when I was there.

"Jeez Catnip, you sure do have a lot of stuff!"

I laughed. "Well, I am going to be here for almost three months!"

I sat down on the pale blue quilt on the bed and smoothed it out with my fingers. I couldn't believe that I was back, and without my Prim.

Gale must have noticed my sullen demeanor because he sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"

I sighed. "I'm really going to miss having Prim with me this year."

He rubbed my back gently. "Well, I guess you'll just have to hang out with me more..."

I looked up at him. Something was different between us, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "Hmm...I guess so."

Gale reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gift-wrapped package. "By the way, happy graduation!" He thrust the box into my hand.

I ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the small box to reveal two beautiful jade earrings. "Gale! You didn't have to get me anything!"

He chuckled. "I know, but one of my best friends just graduated from high school and I wasn't there to see it so I figured that I might as well get her a gift. Do you like them?"

I picked up one of the dangly earrings and beamed at him. "They're beautiful, thank you."

"You're welcome."

I began to unpack my clothes and put them away while Gale watched me. "You want to hang out tomorrow?"

He sighed. "I have to work until six, but after that we can."

Six? What was I supposed to do all day? My uncle would be at work and even though my aunt worked from home, she couldn't exactly do anything with me. "What am I going to do until six?"

Gale shrugged. "Sorry, but I really need the money. You should go to the beach and relax in the sunshine, you won't even miss me."

I pouted at him. "Fine, but you'll miss out on seeing me in my new swimsuit." I winked at him.

He gave me a lazy grin. "I'm sure I'll see it soon."

The next morning, after a nice pancake breakfast with my aunt and uncle, I set out to do some light reading on the beach.

I wandered along the shore for a few minutes before setting up my lawn chair, towel, cooler full of bottled water, and a new novel.

It was still early June, but the beach was already bustling with activity. Girls in tiny bikinis chasing after guys, children building sandcastles, surfers catching some waves, teenagers tanning themselves in the hot sun, and older adults settling under umbrellas.

I breathed in the smell of the salty air and felt the warm breeze tickle my cheeks. It was nearly ten am, but the sun was already burning hot.

I laid back in my lawn chair and watched some of the surfers.

"I'll come by and see you after work, okay?"

I jumped in surprise to see Gale standing next to me in his uniform.

"Yeah, okay."

He smiled and leaned down and placed a kiss on my head. "See you later. Nice swimsuit by the way." He winked.

What was with him lately? He had never been so touchy-feely with me before.

I shook myself mentally, trying to take everything out of my mind besides the beautiful beach I was at.

After a few moments, I went back to watching the surfers. One caught my eye right away. He had a stocky build with what looked like some nice muscles under his wetsuit. His blond hair was drenched and pieces were plastered to his forehead.

I watched him catch wave after wave, until one snuck up on him and pulled him under. I sat up a bit in my chair, waiting for him to resurface.

He didn't resurface right away and I grew concerned for him. I was just about to inform the lifeguard when his blond head popped back up. He looked okay so I settled back down in my chair.

I quickly decided that I needed to stop creeping on the blond guy so I pulled out my novel and began to read, losing myself in the story.

"Hey."

I snapped my book shut in surprise. The blond guy was standing right in front of me. What did he want? "Hey...can I help you?"

He plopped himself down in the sand next to me. "How long have you been dating Gale Hawthorne?"

I looked at him quizzically. "Umm...I'm not dating him, we're just good friends. Do you know him?"

"A little bit. He comes into my parents' bakery that I work at a lot to pick up bread for the Captain's Inn."

The Captain's Inn was the name of the restaurant that Gale worked at. "Oh."

"Yeah, I thought maybe you two were related at first cause you sorta look alike, but then I saw him kiss you on the head and thought maybe you guys were dating."

Why did he care anyway? And who was this guy? "No, not dating, not that it is any of your business."

He shrugged. "I'm Peeta by the way. Peeta Mellark." He stuck out his hand and I reluctantly shook it.

It was then that I noticed his beautiful blue eyes that matched the color of the ocean. He was really quite attractive, if not a little bit annoying. "Katniss Everdeen."

"Everdeen? Are you related to Robert and Marie Everdeen?"

He knew my aunt and uncle? Well, the town wasn't too big... "Yes, they are my aunt and uncle."

He nodded and smiled. "They come into the bakery a lot too. Really nice people."

"How is it that you know everyone I know, but I've never seen you around before?"

Peeta pushed back some of his wet hair. "Me and my family just moved here about six months ago to open up the bakery."

Oh, that made sense then. "I see. I come here every summer to stay with my relatives until late August."

"That's cool. You should stop by the bakery some day and try out some of our pastries, they are delicious. It's right on First Avenue in town next to the hair salon."

"What's it called?"

"Mellark's Bakery. I hope you'll stop by when I'm working."

I smiled at him. "Maybe I will."

Peeta said goodbye and then went back out to surf some more. I wasn't sure why, but I was intrigued by the 'baker boy'. He seemed like a nice guy, a little annoying at first, but persistent and kind, not to mention totally hot. It looked like I was in for an interesting summer.


	2. A Friendly Wager

I sat on the beach for a few more hours, soaking up the sunshine and trying to read more of my book. However, I kept glancing up to look for Peeta amongst the waves.

Eventually, I looked up and he was no longer there so I decided to go back into the house and shower before Gale got back from work.

I showered quickly and pulled on a yellow tank top and a pair of shorts. I heard my aunt bustling around the kitchen so I went to join her.

"Hey, finished working?"

My aunt smiled at me as she got some lemonade out of the fridge and poured us each a glass. "Yep. How was the beach?"

"It was nice, I caught up on some reading while Gale is off at work."

She sat across from me at the kitchen table, sipping her lemonade. "I saw you out there talking to some boy."

She had seen me with Peeta? I felt my face flush a bit. "Yeah, he wanted to know how I knew Gale."

"Oh, did he mention his name?"

"Peeta Mellark."

My aunt's face lit up in recognition and I suddenly remembered that Peeta had told me that he knew my aunt and uncle. "The youngest Mellark boy, I know him."

I was curious to learn more about Peeta. "What do you know about him?"

She pursed her lips in thought for a moment before speaking. "He moved here with his family about six months ago. His parent's own Mellark's Bakery, and I've seen him working there quite a few times. He has two older brothers that work there as well."

"Do you know how old he is?"

My aunt's lip curled up in a sly smile. "Are you interested in him Katniss?"

"What? No! I mean, I barely know him."

"Of course, silly me. I think he is eighteen like you."

Hmm...so Peeta and I had our age in common.

"Any other questions?"

I shook my head, not wanting my aunt to think I had a crush on some guy I hardly knew, even if he was hot as hell.

Gale came to pick me up around six thirty and we went back into the woods to practice archery together.

A few old targets were set up at various distances, waiting for us to pierce them with our arrows.

"How was work?"

Gale lined up his arrow and let it fly. "It was fine. Did you have a nice day on the beach?"

I opened my mouth to tell him about Peeta, but then I thought better of it. "Yeah, it was nice to just relax."

After that, we shot our arrows in silence for a while, just enjoying being outdoors together.

Maybe fifteen minutes later, Gale turned to me with a hint of mischief in his gray eyes. "How about a friendly wager?"

I looked at him in confusion. "What kind of a wager?"

Gale pointed to the furthest target. "I bet you that I can hit the bulls-eye in one shot. If I make it, you have to buy me dinner tomorrow. If I miss the bulls-eye, I'll buy you dinner tomorrow."

I knew that Gale was able to hit that target occasionally, but I figured that the bet was fair enough. "Deal."

We shook hands and Gale pulled back his bow to line up the shot. I watched him carefully. He was a pro like me, and the way that he was setting up, it seemed like he was going to make it.

However, at the very last second, I saw him shift a bit before letting the arrow fly. I wouldn't have even noticed the slight shift if I hadn't being paying so much attention to him and his bow and arrow.

The arrow hit the ring just outside of the bulls-eye. "Damn, guess I owe you dinner Catnip." He grinned at me.

No, he definitely missed the shot on purpose! "You messed up on purpose, I saw you shift at the last second!"

Gale blinked at me. "What? No, I didn't. It was a muscle spasm; an accident."

"I've been doing this as long as you have, I know you were going to have the perfect shot, why did you sabotage it?"

Gale sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair. "Just let me take you out, okay?"

He was serious, no more playing around. "Yeah sure, what time tomorrow?"

"Seven. That will give me enough time to get home from work and get ready."

That night I tossed and turned in my bed, thinking about how Gale had been acting that day. It was almost as if he wanted to take me out for a date, not just a dinner between friends. We had never been more than friends ever. Sure, he was a good looking guy, but it just wasn't like that between us. Why would he want to mess up what we had?

My thoughts eventually turned to Peeta. I was never very popular with the guys back at home. Sure I had had my fair share of awkward kisses after dates and during dares, but guys never seemed to pay attention to me for no reason. Peeta had just sauntered right up to me and started talking like he had known me for all of my life. What was his deal?

Since I had nothing planned until that evening, I went back to my spot on the beach the next afternoon. Almost right away, I began searching the waves for Peeta. I tried to tell myself that stalking random, cute guys was not on my agenda, but I just couldn't help but to look for him. However, he was nowhere to be found.

I sulked into my chair and picked up book instead. I think I got through one paragraph when my stomach began to rumble. I remembered Peeta telling me the day before that I should stop by his parents' bakery for some pastries. I wondered if he was working today, plus a warm, flaky pastry sounded really good.

I went back into the house and threw on a T-shirt and shorts over my bathing suit and headed towards First Avenue, which was only a few blocks away.

It was another beautiful day out. A few fluffy white clouds in the sky, a nice breeze off of the ocean, and not too hot as of yet.

I eventually found my way to Mellark's Bakery and walked inside. The place was on the small side, but for what it lacked in size, it made up in charm. There were a few tables and chairs along the oceanfront windows and the amazing aroma of baked goods filled the air.

A middle aged man was behind the counter, sorting out cookies when I walked in. "Hello, can I help you miss?"

It was then that I noticed that the man looked like an older version of Peeta. Same bright blue eyes and stocky build, but with slightly darker blond hair. He must have been his dad. "Hi, umm...is uh...Peeta here?"

The man scrutinized me for a moment before smiling. "Yeah, he's in the back. What's your name honey?"

"Katniss."

He smiled again. "I'm Howard, Peeta's dad. It's nice to meet you Katniss, I'll go get him for you."

I felt my face flush. "Thanks."

What was I thinking just barging in and asking for Peeta like that? He was going to think I was some psycho stalker.

"Katniss! You came!"

I looked up and saw Peeta standing behind the counter in a green uniform and a white apron. Flour was dusted all over him and I couldn't help but to think he looked cute like that. "Yeah, I umm...was in the mood for some pastries."

He grinned. "Aw, and here I thought you came to see me!"

I smiled back at him. "Don't flatter yourself baker boy. What's good here?"

Peeta offered me several samples, and I finally bought a cheese danish and sat down to eat it.

I was surprised when he sat down across from me. "You like it?"

I nodded, swallowing the bite I had just taken. "It's amazing!"

"Thanks, I made it myself. Anyway, I was umm, wondering if you would like to hang out or something sometime?"

Wait a minute, was Peeta asking me out? No, there was no way. He must just want to have a new friend for the summer. He seemed like a nice enough guy, so I decided that I would like to hang out with him sometime. "Sure, that sounds good to me."

His face lit up and he programmed my number into his phone and then texted me his.

I left the bakery a few moments later with a huge grin on my face.


	3. Thrown Off Guard

When I got back from the bakery, my aunt was watching TV in the living room. I wanted to talk to her about my upcoming dinner with Gale.

I plopped myself down on the sofa next to her and sighed.

"What's wrong Katniss?"

"Gale has been acting funny lately."

My aunt raised her eyebrow at me. "How so?"

I chewed on my lower lip in nervousness, it was difficult for me to express my feelings about people, and I didn't want my aunt to get the wrong impression. "I don't know. He's been very attentive since I arrived."

"Attentive?"

"Yeah, like he's been touching me more often, and well...he asked me to dinner tonight."

My aunt gave me a little smile and then gently shook her head. "Oh Katniss, you don't know?"

Know what? What was she talking about? "Don't know what?"

She placed her hand on my shoulder and sighed. "Gale likes you honey."

I was confused, of course he liked me, we were friends. "Yeah, I like him too, we're good friends."

She chuckled at me softly. "No, he likes you, in a romantic way."

I felt my jaw drop at what she had just told me. It made sense though. The way he had been acting ever since I had arrived showed that. All of the touches, and 'friendly' kisses, how he insisted on taking me out to dinner. "Oh."

"How do you feel about him?"

How did I feel about him? That was a good question. I liked Gale, but did I like him? "I...I don't know. I never really thought of him in that way."

My aunt shuffled closer to me. "He's a nice boy, why don't you just go to dinner with him and see how things go?"

I nodded. "Okay, I'll do that."

I got ready for dinner, dressing in a white skirt that flowed to my knees and a light blue camisole. I braided my hair to the side and slid on some flip flops.

When I came back downstairs, my aunt caught me. "Let me put a little bit of makeup on you."

"Okay, but not too much."

She smiled and took me to her room in front of her vanity mirror. "I'm just going to highlight some of your best facial features."

My aunt swept some shimmery powder across my face, applied some mascara to my eyelashes, and then added just a hint of lip gloss to my lips.

I liked the look. It was nice, without being too over the top.

Gale arrived right on time.

"Wow, you look great," he said as his eyes traveled from my face downward and back up again.

I felt myself blush at his compliment. "Thanks."

Gale looked good as well. He had on a cream colored polo shirt and dark blue jeans that fit him nicely.

He took me to his car and we headed off. "Where are we going to eat at?"

"The Boathouse Grill. I wanted to take you somewhere kinda nice."

The Boathouse Grill was a more expensive seafood restaurant located at the end of town. It was classy and elegant, but not fancy enough to require formal attire.

"That place is kind of expensive, isn't it?"

Gale's dark gaze flickered over to me for a second before he responded. "It's no big deal. I can afford it. I wanted to take you somewhere nice."

I felt my heart racing in my chest, but I couldn't be quite sure if it was because I was excited to be on a 'date' with Gale, or frightened by the idea of being more than friends with him. "Oh, well...uh thanks."

When we finally arrived, Gale led me to the entrance to where the hostess was standing. "Reservations for two under Hawthorne."

Damn, he made reservations for us? This was serious.

The hostess smiled and led us to a table for two by the window.

Gale and I talked throughout the whole meal. I was comfortable talking to him in our normal, friendly way, but I was apprehensive that he would change the topic to something that I wasn't ready for.

Thankfully, he didn't say anything out of the ordinary while we were there. I breathed in a sigh of relief as we exited the restaurant. Maybe my aunt was wrong and Gale just liked me as a friend and was trying to be nice to me. He had yet to really come on to me so I was hoping that I was in the clear.

When we arrived back at home, Gale parked in his driveway and shut off the engine. I got out of the car quickly, hoping to make it next door to my aunt and uncle's house before things got too awkward between us.

However, Gale got out and followed me. "Let me walk you to the door."

I laughed nervously. Things were taking a turn for the worse again. "No, that's okay, I'll be fine."

"Please Katniss."

I sighed. He only called me by my real name when he was in a really serious mood. "Okay."

I let him take me to the front door.

"I had a good time with you tonight."

I swallowed the sudden lump that had formed in my throat. "Yeah, thanks again."

I went to turn my back to him to unlock the door, but he caught me by the arm and swung me around. I looked up at him, knowing what was coming, but unable to stop it.

Gale leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. I was caught between wanting to push him away and wanting to pull him closer. Part of me screamed that he was just a friend and that we shouldn't be kissing. Another part of me enjoyed the feeling of being kissed; it had been a while since the last time anyone had even shown any interest in me whatsoever and it was nice to feel wanted.

The kiss was brief, lasting only a second or two. Gale didn't try to deepen it or push me further, instead he just smiled. "Goodnight Catnip."

I stood there in shock over what had just happened. I managed to squeak out a goodnight before racing into the house and up to my room.

As I expected, my aunt came into my room moments later. "How did it go?"

I sighed and buried my face against my pillow. "He kissed me."

"What did you say? I can't understand you when your face is in the pillow."

I lifted my head up to face my aunt. "He kissed me."

She nodded. "I see. Did you enjoy the kiss?"

That was the question that I was currently faced with. "No...yes, I don't know!"

"Are you still confused?"

"Even more so as of now. I need to be alone please."

"Okay dear, if you need anything let me know."

What I really needed was for someone to sort out my feelings for me.

All of the sudden, I heard my phone ring. Thinking it was Gale, I groaned and picked it up.

It wasn't Gale, it was Peeta.

"Hey Katniss."

"Hi Peeta, what's going on?"

He paused for a moment before responding. "Are you busy tomorrow evening?"

What the hell? What did Peeta want now?

"No, what's up?"

"Me and a few of my friends are going up to The Pier around five. I was wondering if you would like to go too?"

The Pier was a boardwalk/amusement park. It boasted good food, shops, games, and a few rides as well. It sounded like fun to hang out with a group of people, plus I figured that distancing myself from Gale for a while might help me sort out my feelings, so I agreed.

"Sure, where can I meet you at?"

"I'll be by the Merry-Go-Round at five to meet up with everyone."

"Okay Peeta, I'll see you then."

"Can't wait!" He sounded excited.

I hit 'end' on my phone and placed it on my nightstand. If Peeta hadn't have told me that a whole group of people was going to be at The Pier, I might have thought that he was asking me out. That was all that I needed, two guys after me. I had just wanted to come here and relax this summer, not worry about dating anyone. I just wasn't the type of girl who went around dating a whole bunch of guys just for the hell of it.

As I drifted off to sleep that night, my thoughts went from Gale's kiss and my indecision as to whether or not I had enjoyed it, to Peeta and our plans for the next day. I couldn't deny that Peeta was very attractive, but I really didn't know him that well yet.

How did I get thrown off guard by two guys in such a small amount of time?


	4. Fun In The Sun

I decided to relax the next day before going out with Peeta and his friends. I sat in the hammock in my aunt and uncle's backyard and read part of my book.

I wasn't usually one to read a romance novel, but the book had just the right amount of romance sprinkled in amongst the main plot.

I felt myself wishing that I could feel the things that the main character felt when she was with the man that she loved. I had never been in love before, so I could only guess how great it might be.

I must have fallen asleep in the hammock, because the next thing I knew was a tickling sensation across my stomach.

My mind was foggy from sleep, so I tried to brush away whatever was tickling me, but it just got worse. Finally, I opened my eyes and saw Gale standing over me, tickling my sides.

I shot up and grabbed his hands. "Gale! Stop it!"

He laughed and broke free of my grasp. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I just wanted to see how you were doing before I went to work."

I noticed that he was in his uniform. "Wait, what time is it?"

"It's almost four. I work the dinner shift tonight."

Shit! I had to get ready! "Oh, well have a good time." I got up and walked him back over to his house.

He gave me an odd look, probably wondering why I was chasing him off. "Yeah, sure. Work's a blast..." Gale leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek before heading off to work.

Ignoring Gale's look of confusion, I ran back to the house and got ready to meet up with Peeta.

Since I had no vehicle with me, I had to walk to The Pier. It took a bit longer than I had anticipated, so I ended up at the Merry-Go-Round ten minutes late.

I didn't see Peeta at first and I thought that maybe I was too late and he had stopped waiting for me. I looked around for the familiar blond head of hair, hoping that he was still there.

"Katniss."

I whipped around to see Peeta and four other people, waiting for me.

"Peeta, sorry I'm late."

He smiled back at me. "It's okay, I'm glad you could make it."

He introduced me to his four friends: Finnick, a tan guy with bronze hair and green eyes. Finnick's girlfriend, Annie, who had dark hair and green eyes, Delly, who was blond and seemed very friendly, and Ryan, one of Peeta's brothers who looked kind of like him.

The six of us decided to start off with some food. I was nervous to be around all of them because I didn't know them very well, but they were all nice to me and made me feel welcome.

We found a food stand that sold the regular boardwalk fare: fries, sodas, corn dogs, cotton candy, funnel cakes, and burgers.

I bought a soda and some fries and sat by Peeta at the picnic table that Finnick was saving for us.

I was feeling a bit shy being around all of them at once. I tried to smile at appropriate times, laugh at their jokes, and answer their questions, but I was never the most sociable person.

I tried to put those negative thoughts out of my mind and just have a good time.

I watched as Annie put her mouth around the large corn dog she was eating. Finnick smirked. "And that's why I'm dating her."

Annie turned bright red and everyone burst out laughing. I thought maybe she was mad at her boyfriend for saying that at first, but she just lightly punched him in the arm and laughed along with the rest of us.

I decided then that I liked Peeta's friends, but I still wanted to get to know Peeta better.

After we had all eaten our food, we were trying to decide what to do next.

"I want to play some games," said Finnick, wrapping his arm around Annie.

Delly was next to speak up. "I kinda want to see if there is anything new in the shops."

Peeta sighed. "And I was hoping to go on some of the rides."

"Yeah, me too," I agreed.

Ryan pursed his lips together in thought for a moment before speaking up. "Well, how about we split up for a while? Finnick and Annie can go play games, I'll take Delly to the shops, and Peeta and Katniss can go on some rides."

Everyone nodded in agreement. It looked like I was about to get my wish to get to know Peeta better after all.

After we went our separate ways, I walked with Peeta down to where all of the rides were. I couldn't help but notice how his eyes matched the crystal blue of the ocean, and how impressive his biceps looked in the shirt he was wearing. I was totally checking him out.

"Which ride do you want to go on?" Peeta smiled at me and waved his hand in the general direction of the rides before us.

"Hmm...well I really want to go on that roller coaster, but I have a feeling that that would be a bad idea since we just ate."

He nodded. "A wise decision Miss Everdeen. Do you have a second choice?"

I considered the other rides in our vicinity. Most of them seemed either too childlike or too intense to ride after eating. Then I noticed the large Ferris wheel at the end of The Pier. I knew that you could see the entire area and surrounding ocean from the top, and since it wasn't a very intense ride, it would be a good choice. "Umm, how about that?" I pointed to the Ferris Wheel.

Peeta looked up at the Ferris Wheel and then back at me. "You want to go on that?"

I didn't see what the big deal was. "Yeah, it has an amazing view."

"Okay, let's go then."

Peeta and I made our way to the line to the Ferris Wheel and I decided that it was as good of a chance as any to get to know him better. "So, tell me about yourself."

He ruffled his hand through his wavy blond hair, pushing it away from his eyes. "Uh, I'm eighteen, just graduated from high school. My favorite color is sunset orange. I like to bake, surf, paint, and hang out with my friends. How about you?"

I laughed. "Well thanks for the Reader's Digest version of Peeta Mellark! Let's see...I'm eighteen and just graduated as well. I like the color green, and my hobbies include archery, spending time with my sister, and reading."

Peeta's lips curled into an easy smile. "You have a sister? Is she here with you?"

I shook my head. "No, she usually comes with me, but she is at a camp this summer."

"What's her name?"

I smiled, thinking about my wonderful little sister. "Her name is Primrose, but most people call her Prim. She is fourteen and looks more like you than me."

The lined moved forward and we scrambled to catch up. "How so?"

"She's blond with blue eyes like our mother. I have my dad's hair and eye color."

Peeta relaxed on the wall behind him. "What do your parents do?"

I flinched at the thought of my father and his death. Even after so many years, it still hit me hard. "Umm...my mom works in a hospital and my dad used to be a coal miner, but he died years ago."

Peeta's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

I let out a breath of air. "It's okay, I know you meant well. So, tell me more about your family."

Peeta went on to tell me about his mom, dad, and two older brothers. I had met Ryan, who was twenty, but he also had another brother who was a bit older as well.

Finally, it was our turn to get on the ride. We sat side by side in the small car and the ride started with a small lurch.

It went sort of fast at first, for a Ferris Wheel, but when they ride operators had to put more people on, it slowed to a stop near the top.

I looked out at The Pier and the ocean beyond it, enjoying the soft breeze ruffling my hair. "Beautiful..." I said, referring to the amazing view below us.

"I couldn't agree more."

I looked over, expecting to see Peeta checking out the view as well. However, he was staring directly at me.

I felt myself blush at his blatant flirting. A strange, fluttering feeling settled in my stomach. At first I thought it was indigestion, but then I realized that it was a pleasant sensation.

I dropped my gaze away from Peeta's. "I meant the view..."

He sighed. "I know what you meant, I was just sharing my thoughts on what I was looking at as well."

The fluttering feeling grew. "Oh," I squeaked out.

The Ferris wheel started again and before I knew it, we were off of it and the moment had passed.

The fluttering calmed down and Peeta and I headed off towards more of the rides.

The rest of the evening went by without a hitch. I had a really good time with Peeta, and it was nice to meet some of his friends as well.

When it was time for me to leave, Peeta came to talk to me alone. "Hey, this was fun. Can we hang out again sometime?"

I pretended to think hard about it, just to tease him a bit. "I don't know..."

"Please Katniss, I like spending time with you."

I grinned back at him. "I'm just teasing you. Yeah, we can hang out again."

Peeta stepped closer to me and looked into my eyes. "I can't wait."

The fluttering came back in full force. I opened my mouth to respond, but Delly yelled out for Peeta. "Come on! Let's go Peeta!"

He headed off with his friends and I walked back to the house by myself.

I got back around ten and since Gale was still at work, I relaxed in the living room and put on an old movie.

I popped some popcorn and settled down on the sofa to watch the movie. It was almost eleven when my phone buzzed.

I need to see you...


	5. Chapter 5

I looked at the text message for at least five minutes before finally responding.

Why? You just saw me an hour or so ago.

I hit send and flopped back onto the sofa. I didn't know why Peeta felt the need to see me when I had just seen him not long ago. Maybe he had meant to text some other girl and had mistakenly texted me instead.

A sudden rush of envy flowed through my veins at the thought of Peeta needing to see some other girl.

My phone buzzed with another text from Peeta.

Unfinished business...

What the hell was he talking about? Unfinished business? What was that supposed to mean? I guess maybe curiosity got the best of me.

Okay, where should we meet up at?

I didn't know what I was thinking; meeting up with him in the middle of the night, but I just had to know what was up with him.

What's the address of your aunt and uncle's place?

No, he couldn't come here. My aunt and uncle might wake up, or Gale might come home from work and see us.

It's 38 Palmetto Drive, but you can't come here, my relatives might wake up.

I watched my phone in anticipation of his next text. Would he give up? Or suggest somewhere else to meet up?

I live at 62 Palmetto, can you come down the beach and meet me halfway?

I sighed, I really didn't want to go anywhere, but I guess a short walk down the beach to meet Peeta wouldn't be too bad.

Okay, I'll meet you in ten minutes.

I re-braided my hair, slipped on a pair of sandals, and grabbed a flashlight before heading out into the night.

The breeze coming off of the ocean was stronger now, making me almost chilly as I stepped out onto the sand and began to walk towards where Peeta would be meeting me. I used the light of the moon, stars, and my flashlight to illuminate my way along the sandy shore.

I walked in silence until I saw a figure sitting down in the distance. As I got closer, I saw that Peeta was sitting on a large blanket, staring out across the ocean. The breeze ruffled his hair and I noticed that he had changed into a long sleeved shirt, but his feet were now bare.

"Peeta."

He turned to me and smiled, patting the blanket next to him. "Hey, come sit down."

The fluttering that I had felt in my stomach earlier returned at the sight of his gorgeous smile. I sat down next to him, leaving some space in between us, and hugged my knees against my chest. "What's going on?"

Peeta turned towards me. "I...I don't know how to put this without it sounding weird or awkward..."

My mind was a confused blur. I had no idea what he was talking about. "Umm...just say it I guess."

He sighed and looked down at his feet. "I know that I haven't known you for that long, but you have some sort of crazy effect on me. I can't explain it really."

I was even more confused. "What kind of effect? Good or bad?"

He glanced back at me briefly. "Good, definitely good."

I looked at him quizzically. "I don't understand..."

Peeta took a deep breath and then grabbed my hand, placing it on his chest. I felt his heart beating rapidly beneath my palm.

"You feel that?"

I nodded, not able to say anything in that moment.

Peeta let go of my hand and I let it drop back by my side. "That's what happens every time I am near you. My heart beats out of control and I can't stop it."

And that was supposed to be a good thing? Me causing him to have a heart attack? "And that's a good thing?"

He laughed lightly. "Yes, it is."

"Oh," I said looking away from him.

Peeta gently turned my head back towards him and tucked back a piece of my hair that had escaped from my braid.

My breath caught in my throat at his intimate gesture. That was when I finally understood, he liked me. I was so dense not to see it sooner, but everything he had said and done practically screamed that he was falling for me. I didn't know what to do or say to him. Matters of the heart always confused me, and now I had two guys more or less confess that they had feelings for me.

I bit my lip and glanced nervously back into Peeta's blue-eyed gaze.

He looked pensive, like he was considering something very intensely. Finally, he spoke up. "I'm not usually like this with girls, you know, so forward, but I feel like this is right..."

"What's right?"

"Us, you and me." He motioned between us with his hand.

Him and I? I didn't know quite what to think of that, so I stayed quiet.

Peeta and I sat together in silence for a few moments before he turned to me again. "Can I...umm...can I kiss you?"

Was he actually asking to kiss me? He was giving me a choice? Wait, did I want him to kiss me? I thought for a moment and decided that yes, I did want him to kiss me.

Somehow, I got my mouth open to speak. "Okay."

Peeta smiled and leaned forward. I closed my eyes and a second later, I felt his warm lips caress mine gently.

The stomach flutters were in full force, and the tingling sensation that accompanied them spread throughout my entire body.

I pressed my lips back against his, enjoying the feeling too much to let him stop.

My reciprocation of his kiss must have given him some confidence, because he wrapped his arms around me and pressed our bodies together.

With our bodies flush against each other, I could feel his heart beating again. I soon realized that his fast beat matched my own.

Peeta flicked his tongue gently across my lips and I opened my mouth to give him entrance. He hesitantly touched his tongue to mine and I felt like fireworks were going off inside of my body.

I don't know how long we would have stayed there kissing each other, but my phone rang and I broke away.

We were both panting as the kiss ended and I had to find my breath before answering my phone.

"Hello?"

"Katniss! Are you okay?" It was my aunt.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I decided to go for a walk down the beach."

She sighed. "It's okay, I was just worried about you."

"I'm coming home now."

We hung up and I turned back to Peeta. "That was my aunt. I...I have to go."

I scrambled to my feet, my mind still rushing from the passionate kiss that we had just shared.

"Can I call you tomorrow?" He looked at me sadly.

I wasn't sure what to think about what just happened between us, but I definitely wanted to talk to him and see him again. "Yes."

I said goodnight to Peeta and headed back up the beach towards the house.

When I got back, my aunt was still awake, waiting for me to return.

"I'm sorry I worried you."

She smiled. "I'm not mad honey, I wouldn't have even woken up if it wasn't for Gale."

I frowned. "Gale?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he was throwing pebbles at your bedroom window. The sound woke me up and I checked your room and you weren't there."

"Why was Gale throwing rocks at my window? He could have just texted or called me."

My aunt shook her head. "I don't know. By the time I came out to see him, he was gone. Maybe he was trying to be romantic or something."

Romantic? I didn't find the possible breaking of my window to be romantic. "He's an idiot."

"Don't be so harsh on him, he likes you a lot."

"I know."

As I laid in bed that night, Gale and Peeta were prominent features in my thoughts. I thought of how they had both kissed me and how the kisses felt so very different. I didn't know what to do about them. I liked them both. I wasn't quite sure how deep those feelings ran, but they were both such nice guys, and I knew that if I couldn't decide on what my feelings were and for whom, that I was going to leave at least one of heartbroken.


	6. Distraction and Contemplation

Gale came over the next afternoon. After what had happened last night with Peeta, it felt kind of weird being around Gale again.

"Hey Catnip, where were you last night?" He leaned down and hugged me.

I embraced him back. "I went for a walk on the beach. Why were you throwing rocks at my window?"

Gale looked taken aback. "How did you know I threw pebbles at your window?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Look, you aren't exactly stealthy. My aunt saw you."

"Shit! Is she angry now?"

I laughed lightly at him. "No, it's okay, but that still doesn't answer my question."

Gale ran his hand through his dark hair. "Oh right. I forgot to charge my phone while I was at work and the battery died. I wanted to see you for a little bit, so I tried to get your attention by throwing the pebbles."

Oh, so that was why he didn't just call or text me. "Oh, okay."

"Do you wanna get some lunch? I don't have to work today."

I hadn't got to spend too much time with Gale so far, so I agreed. He took me to a local diner where we got greasy burgers and loads of fries to share.

I was having fun with him. It was just like old times, before he decided that friendship wasn't enough for him.

Everything was going really well, until Gale suddenly reached out and grabbed my hand from across the table. "Did I ever tell you what beautiful hands you have?"

What? What the hell was he thinking? My hands had blisters and calluses on them from archery, they were certainly not beautiful. I ripped my hand away from him. "Have you gone mad?"

He frowned. "No...I just like your hands, and your arms, and your lips, and your face, and everything about you."

I blinked back at him. I knew that he was complimenting me, but it just sounded so strange coming out of one of my best friends' mouths. "Well, uh...thanks." I gave him a small smile and quickly changed the subject.

We were chatting and finishing off our burgers when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out and glanced at the caller ID.

It was Peeta.

"I, uh, gotta take this. I'll be right back!" I scrambled out of the seat and into the restroom.

"Hello?"

"Hey Katniss!" Peeta's cheery voice made me smile.

"What's up?"

He chuckled. "Well, you did say that I could call you today."

Yep, I remembered that. It happened right after our tongues had been in each others' mouths last night. "Yes, I know."

I heard Peeta sigh on the other end of the line. "Yeah, umm...anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come to my graduation party?"

His graduation party? Oh yeah, we did just graduate from high school, it made sense that a friendly guy such as Peeta would have a party. "Yeah, I'd like that. Where and when?"

"It's going to be at my house this Saturday. It's from two in the afternoon until whenever everyone leaves. I'd love for you to be there."

I grinned from ear to ear and nodded. Then I remembered that I was on the phone and he couldn't see me. "Yes, I'll be there."

"Great! We have a pool so wear a swimsuit okay?" I could hear excitement in Peeta's voice.

"Okay."

After we hung up, I realized that I had left Gale alone at the booth for far too long. I walked back to him and slid into the booth. "Sorry about that."

He waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "No worries. Who was it?"

Shit, I should have known he would be curious! I needed a quick cover story. "Umm...it was Prim."

"Prim? You should have let me say hi to her! How is she?"

"She's good, just uh...busy with camp."

Gale and I left the restaurant shortly after that and walked back towards our houses. He was chattering at me a mile a minute, but I was distracted by thoughts of Peeta. Why did I suddenly feel the need to hide Peeta from Gale?

Oh yeah, that's right. They both liked me.

What exactly was I going to do about that?

I shook myself free of my thoughts when Gale and I returned. I noticed that my aunt and uncle were not home, so I decided to invite Gale to hang out for a while.

"Wanna come in?"

He's gray eyes flickered with some unknown emotion for a second before he answered. "Yeah, of course."

We ended up watching a movie in the living room. At first, Gale and I were simply sitting next to each other, but after a while, he put his arm around me and pulled me closer.

I was hit with two feelings simultaneously. I wanted to lean in closer to him, but I also wanted to remove his arm from around me and go back to our platonic relationship that I had been so comfortable with before.

I decided to let him keep his arm there for the moment. He was warm and smelled so familiar and comforting, so Gale-like.

I had just gotten used to his arm being around me, when he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine.

No, I couldn't kiss Gale! Gale was my friend, and what about Peeta? My mind was such a blurred mess of utter confusion and chaos that I could not think straight.

Somehow, I found myself kissing him back. I didn't know why, but I did. His lips were warm against mine and when he deepened the kiss, I expected to feel the stomach flutters like I had with Peeta.

However, they were mysteriously absent. Maybe it was because I was already so comfortable with Gale that that tingling feeling just wasn't there.

I broke off the kiss before it could go any further. Gale was smiling at me, obviously happy that I had reciprocated his kiss.

"Mmm...you taste so good, I want more." He came towards me again, but I turned my head.

He looked crestfallen. "What's wrong?"

I sighed. "I know I kissed you back, but I'm just not sure about all of this."

"Am I moving too fast?"

I nodded. "We've been friends for so long and I can't just switch gears like that."

Gale gave me a sad look. "Okay, I understand. I'll be here when you're ready."

"Okay."

Gale left after that. I felt bad for hurting his feelings, but I just wasn't ready for a physical and/or romantic relationship with him, and I wasn't sure if I ever would be.

I needed a distraction from my issues with Gale.

I went up to my room and flopped down on the twin bed. I closed my eyes and the first thing that came to my mind was the kiss that I had shared with Peeta the previous night. I smiled to myself as I thought about sensations that his kiss had brought upon me and how sweet he was about asking to kiss me first.

I wanted to see him again before Saturday, but I didn't know when or if he was free. I decided to text him and see what he was up to.

Hey Peeta :)

I waited to see if he would answer me. I had just talked to him on the phone not too long ago and I didn't want him to think I was weird for texting him so soon.

Hi! What's up?

Okay, he didn't seem upset. Now I had to think of something to say to him.

Nothing much, just bored. You?

Okay, boredom was neutral right? Nothing wrong with texting a friend while bored.

Same... Want to do something?

Peeta wanted to hang out with me again? Just the thought of that made my heart start to beat faster and my stomach flutters to return. After last night, it was obvious that he liked me, but I still wasn't one hundred percent sure how I felt about him. He was nice, funny, and certainly very attractive, but so was Gale. So why did I feel so much in Peeta's kiss and not so much in Gale's?

Yes. Like what? ;)

Oh shit! I didn't mean to send a winking face to him! It was supposed to be a smiley face! Now he probably thought I was sending him a suggestive remark!

Up to you ;)

Oh my gosh...he winked back! I was in serious shit. My heart thumped louder in my chest and my palms began to sweat. I didn't know what to say to him. I also didn't know what we could possibly go and do. He couldn't come over because Gale might see him. I had to meet him somewhere else.

Finally, I decided that I needed some fresh air. Maybe a nice walk through my favorite spots in the woods would be a good idea.

I feel like doing something outdoors. I'll come down to your house and we can take a walk if you want.

A nice, innocent walk, that was all. Nothing suggestive about that.

Sure. See you soon.

I smiled to myself and went to go find my shoes.


	7. A Trip In The Woods

I walked down to where Peeta's house was, anxious for our walk together. I decided that I would take him to some of my favorite spots in the woods and maybe we could get to know each other better. I already knew some things about him from our day at The Pier and our night on the beach, but I wanted to know more. Peeta intrigued me like no other guy ever had done before.

When I reached his house, I noticed that it was the same style as my aunt and uncle's house. However, this one was painted a cheery yellow. I rang the doorbell and waited impatiently for Peeta.

When the door opened, I noticed that it was Ryan, not Peeta.

"Oh, hey Katniss. You want me to get Peeta for you?" He smiled at me.

"Yeah, he's expecting me."

Ryan nodded and yelled for Peeta. "Hey Peeta! Your girlfriend is here!"

"Oh, I'm not really his..."

Ryan cut me off. "Settle down, I'm just messin' with him. It's what older brothers do."

Peeta came to the door a moment later, blushing at his brother's statement. "Thanks for the announcement Ry," he grumbled and he strode past his brother and out onto the porch with me.

I smiled at Peeta. "Ready to go?"

"Yep, let's get outta here."

We walked off together in the direction of the woods. Before we could get more than ten feet away, Ryan called out to us. "Wrap it up little bro!"

Peeta blushed and went to turn and yell at his brother, but I stopped him.

"Don't worry about it, he's just teasing us."

He nodded and we continued towards the woods.

I quickly led Peeta down the familiar path that cut through the woods. The air around us was calm and I could hear all of the birds singing above us in the trees.

"Isn't it beautiful back here?"

Peeta smiled. "Yes, I like it a lot. Do you come here often?"

"Whenever I can. I have a few favorite spots that I'd like to show you."

"Okay, sounds good."

We walked together in a comfortable silence for a few minutes when I felt Peeta's hand brush against mine. I looked over at him and he gave me a small smile before lacing our fingers together.

It felt so nice just to have his warm hand laced with mine. I felt almost giddy with excitement at just that little gesture of affection.

We soon arrived at the first spot that I liked. It was a small clearing in the woods where wildflowers grew. I tugged his hand and led him to sit next to me in the small field of flowers. I inhaled their sweet scent, enjoying being outside in one of my favorite places.

Peeta picked a light pink flower that was in front of us and gently placed it behind my ear. "I can see why you like this place so much, it's beautiful."

He was such a sweet guy that I knew that even if he hated the place, that he would find something to like in it just to make me happy. I smiled shyly at him. "It's so peaceful here."

"It is. So, how long are you going to be here again?"

I frowned. I had failed to consider the fact that after the summer was over, I would return home shortly before heading off to my first year of college at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. "Oh, I'll be here until the end of August, then I start college."

"Where are you going?"

"University of Pittsburgh."

I looked at Peeta and saw that his bright blue eyes lit up. "No way! Me too!"

That was just crazy. He was going to be at the same college as I was! Now, if something special really happened between us, I would be able to be with him even after the summer had ended.

I grinned and did the only appropriate thing that I could think of. I kissed him.

He seemed shocked at first, but then he relaxed a bit and kissed me back. The stomach flutters began again and I was beginning to enjoy the sensations that they brought. I pulled Peeta closer and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He brought his arms around me as well and then deepened our kiss, thrusting his tongue into my mouth to meet mine.

He was such a good kisser that I couldn't help but moan into his mouth a little.

That seemed to spur him along. He broke the kiss and gently pushed me back to lie in the tall grass and flowers.

I pulled him down on top of me, enjoying the feeling of his weight pressing down on me.

Peeta's lips met mine once again in a kiss even more passionate than the last one had been. I felt myself melting inside as his agile tongue stroked mine. I had never been kissed so thoroughly before, it was an amazing feeling that I never wanted to stop.

I moved my hands from around his neck and threaded them through his thick hair, pulling him as close to me as I possibly could.

Peeta broke away from me and I wondered if I had done something wrong. However, I saw him smile down at me and I knew that he wasn't upset.

Instead of kissing my lips again, Peeta leaned down and brushed his lips over my check and then down to my neck. He placed light kisses along the column of my throat and down to my shoulder, where he nipped my skin lightly.

I felt the stomach flutters start to increase in both intensity and speed as his kissed his way back up to my neck, and eventually, to my lips. I never thought that kissing and being kissed could be so pleasurable on their own, but Peeta made everything feel so right and so wonderful that I could only imagine what it would feel like to go further with him.

The grass beneath me began to itch my legs so I broke off our kiss and nudged Peeta upwards so I could sit up.

"Was that okay?" He looked worried, like I was going to be upset with him.

I smiled at him. "It was more than okay."

Peeta and I got up and I took his hand to lead him to my other favorite place; where I practiced my archery.

I showed Peeta my extra bow and arrows that I kept in a hollowed out tree.

"Show me some of your skills."

"Okay, I'm not great or anything..."

I shot off a few arrows, all of which hit the targets perfectly in the bulls-eye.

Peeta's eyebrows rose up. "Not great? That was perfect! Show me some more!"

I laughed and showed him a few more of my skills. I tried to teach him how to shoot, but he couldn't seem to get it. We just ended up laughing together as he fumbled with the bow and arrow.

Suddenly, a torrential rain seemed to come out of nowhere. I shrieked and ran into the cover of the trees with Peeta close behind me.

Once beneath the protective cover of the trees, we looked at each other, both half drenched in rain and burst out laughing.

Peeta's hair was mussed up and sticking out at odd places and I'm sure my own hair was a mess as well. I could feel a few tendrils of it sticking to my forehead.

Peeta reached out and gently moved the pieces of hair off of my forehead and tucked them behind my ear. Then, he leaned closer and kissed me. He started off the kiss nice and slow, adding his tongue after a few moments. However, I was in a more playful mood, so I gently bit his lower lip, causing him to moan.

He broke away and looked at me, the desire clear as day in his blue eyes. I licked my lips slowly and he groaned, pressing his lips against mine forcefully.

Peeta backed me up to the nearest tree and held my hands over my head as he explored my mouth. The heat and intensity between us shut out any of the cold that the rain had brought.

After he had thoroughly kissed me, Peeta let go of my hands and trailed his lips down my neck, nipping at my sensitive skin and causing me to moan lightly. I wanted him. I wanted him more than I had ever wanted anyone in my entire life. That feeling just intensified when his lips roamed lower over my shoulder and then to my collarbone.

Not to be outdone, I burrowed my hands under his shirt and up over the tight muscles of his chest. He stopped what he was doing for a moment and ripped his shirt up over his head. I was treated to the delectable view of his chest and the sight of it only fueled my passion and desire for him even further.

Peeta must have decided that I needed to be half naked as well, because he gently lifted off my shirt and threw it on the ground over his.

I felt exposed, but not entirely uncomfortable, I was too far gone at that point to care much.

"Beautiful," Peeta mumbled to himself as his hands traveled down to my bra-clad breasts and he ran his hand over the slight cleavage that was poking out of the top.

I shivered at his touch, the light feeling of his fingertips slowly driving me crazy.

Just when I thought I couldn't take any more torture from him, he removed his hands and replaced them with his mouth. He began to place featherlight kisses and trace my cleavage with his tongue.

"Oh..."

He chuckled at my moan. "Do you like this?"

I felt my eyes drift closed as he continued. "Yes, oh yes."

How could I not like what he was doing? I was in pure and utter bliss.


	8. Interruptions

Peeta began to move my bra off of my body when I heard a crashing sound about ten feet or so away from us.

"Shit!"

I gasped. The crashing noise had been somebody tripping and falling in the woods, and by the sound of the voice, it was Gale.

"What was that?" Peeta looked around for the intruder as I grabbed our shirts, flinging his at him.

"Somebody is here! We have to hide," I hissed at him. I didn't mention that I was pretty sure that the person was Gale.

I quickly pulled Peeta behind a large tree and prayed that Gale wouldn't find us. The last thing that I needed was for him to find out about whatever was going on between Peeta and me. He would only get hurt, and I didn't want to hurt my friend.

I noticed that sometime between my make out session with Peeta and Gale arriving, it had stopped raining. It must have been one of those freaky summer storms that come and go without warning.

I cautiously peeked around the tree trunk and into the thicket. Gale must have been heading towards the archery targets, because I saw him enter the clearing a moment later.

I turned back to Peeta and placed my index finger over my lips to show that we still had to be quiet. Then, I grabbed his hand and swiftly led him away from the clearing.

Once I knew that we were far enough away from Gale, I relaxed a little bit. "That was crazy."

Peeta chuckled. "Yeah...except crazy isn't exactly the word I would use for it."

My gaze flickered over to him and I noticed that his pupils were dilated a bit. "What word would you use for it?"

One corner of his mouth lifted in a sly smile. "Amazing."

Amazing? Almost being caught half naked by one of my best friends was amazing? I quirked up one of my eyebrows at him in question.

Peeta ran a hand through his hair and gave a short laugh. "Oh, I didn't mean almost getting caught. I meant the part right before that..."

Wow, just wow. I mean, it wasn't like I didn't feel the same way about our make out session, cause I did, I really did. However, just hearing Peeta say it out loud caused a shiver to run down my body, a good kind of shiver.

I wasn't sure how to respond to him, so I just continued along the path until we got back to his house.

"So, you'll be at my party on Saturday right?"

I nodded and smiled. "Of course, can't wait."

Peeta grinned back at me and placed a light kiss on my lips before heading back into his house.

I practically skipped back home. I was giddy with excitement over Peeta Mellark and what had transpired between us.

As I got closer to the house, my thoughts drifted to a more solemn subject. Gale. He had almost caught me making out in the woods with Peeta! With our shirts off! And Peeta licking my cleavage! Now that would have been awkward. And bad, very bad.

I really didn't want to hurt Gale. He had been my friend and confidant for so many years and he was a great guy, but he just didn't excite and thrill me the way that Peeta did.

Why did life have to be so complicated?

Over the next few days, I tried to spend more time with my aunt and uncle. I felt that between Gale and Peeta, that I had totally disregarded the two people who were nice enough to let me stay with them for the entire summer.

The three of us went out to eat and to the movies together one night and it was fun to just hang out with my aunt and uncle.

Later that night, after my uncle had already gone to bed, I sought out my aunt's advice.

"Can I talk to you?"

My aunt smiled and patted the sofa so I could sit next to her. "Of course honey, what's going on?"

I sighed heavily before sitting down. "It's Gale...and umm...Peeta too."

"Oh? What about them?"

"Well, you know how Gale took me out and kissed me and I didn't want to discuss it at the moment?"

She nodded, so I continued.

"He wants something more from me than I am willing to give him. Something more than friendship."

My aunt seemed to consider my words for a moment before speaking up. "I see...and how does Peeta fit into this?"

I looked down at my lap. "Umm, I think he wants the same thing as Gale."

"And what makes you think that?"

I took a deep breath. Obviously I couldn't tell my aunt what had happened in the woods between us, but I needed to explain my confusion to her. "We have spent some time together, and he, umm...he kissed me too."

"Do you like him?"

I did like Peeta, I liked him a lot, but I didn't really know what to do about it. "Yes, I like him a lot."

My aunt smiled. "He's a very nice boy. If you like him, then you should go for it."

If only it were that simple... I shifted in my seat. "But I don't want to hurt Gale. I like Gale too, but I just don't feel the same way about him as I do for Peeta."

She nodded. "I know you don't want to hurt Gale, but you have to listen to your heart. If your heart is telling you to go for Peeta, then do it. Unfortunately, there is no way that you will be able to get out of this situation without hurting somebody, so you need to decide quickly and don't leave either of them hanging. It will be painful, but it is the nicer thing to do in the long run."

I took in everything that my aunt had just told me. I knew that she was right. I should just let Gale down easily and pursue a relationship with Peeta. However, that was definitely easier said than done.

A few days later, it was time for Peeta's graduation party. I bought him a card and put twenty dollars in it. I couldn't think of a better gift, so I figured that everybody liked money.

I dressed in my swimsuit; a modest two-piece with a teal blue halter top and matching bottoms. I threw a change of clothes in my bag for later, along with a towel and some sunscreen.

I made my way down to Peeta's house a little after the starting time for the party. I saw that everything was already in full swing. People were everywhere; swimming in the pool, eating food at tables, playing horseshoes, and relaxing in chairs around the pool.

I immediately looked around for Peeta. Since I didn't really know many people at the party, I was hoping that he might introduce me.

I didn't see him right away, but I did find Delly in line for the food.

"Hey Delly, have you seen Peeta?"

The blond, bubbly girl smiled. "Hi Katniss! Peeta is in the kitchen grabbing some condiments, you can go help him if you want."

"Okay thanks."

I headed for the house, noticing that the door was open. I felt weird just entering his house like that, but I figured that everyone would be in and out all day anyway.

I found Peeta with his head in the refrigerator.

"Peeta?"

He jumped, almost hitting his head on one of the shelves. He turned around, his arms full of bottles of ketchup, mustard, and mayo. As soon as he saw me, his face lit up.

"Katniss! You made it!" Peeta placed the bottles on the counter next to the fridge and walked over to me. He put his arms around me and hugged me tight.

I embraced him back. "I, uhh...got you a card."

I thrust the card into his hands. "You can open it now if you want, it isn't much though."

He grinned and ripped open the envelope. After carefully reading the card, he regarded the money with a frown. "Katniss...I can't accept this."

He tried to give me back the twenty dollar bill, but I shook my head. "I wanted to give you something."

Peeta sighed. "I don't want your money, but if you want to give me something, I have another idea."

My mind raced. It almost seemed as if he was making a sexual innuendo. What did he want me to give him? A blow job?

I felt my face turn red at that thought. "Oh, umm...like what?"

He smiled and gently tilted up his head so that our eyes were locked together. "I want you to be my girlfriend."

I felt my heart begin to beat faster and the stomach flutters started to return. He wanted me to be his girlfriend? Me?

"I, uh..." I just couldn't seem to get the correct words to form in my mouth.

Peeta looked away. "It's okay, I understand if you don't want to..."

I laughed. "Oh Peeta, of course I will be your girlfriend!"

Peeta lifted me up into his arms and swung me around before kissing me. "That's the best present anyone could ever give me."

I smiled. I felt truly happy with Peeta's arms wrapped tight around me. I never wanted to let go.


	9. What Feels Right

"Well, I better get this stuff out before Delly has a hissy fit about not having mustard for her hot dog." Peeta picked up the condiment bottles and I followed him back out to the party.

After setting down the bottles, Peeta took my hand and introduced me as his girlfriend to just about everyone at the party.

I already knew Delly, Ryan, his dad, Finnick, and Annie. I also met some more of his family and other friends from his high school as well.

I knew that I would never remember all of their names, but I smiled and shook their hands and generally tried to be nice to them all.

The sun was blazing that day, so Peeta and I decided to swim for a while.

"Why don't you wear a bikini like all the other girls?" Peeta playfully snapped the strap of my suit.

I felt myself blush. "Well, I'm not really that confident in my body. I'm not really pretty."

I saw him give my body a brief glance up and down. "Katniss, are you on crack? You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. If you don't want to show off your body to everyone, that's okay, but I'd like to see it for myself sometime." He winked.

I blushed again, my face probably as red as a tomato. I looked around to see if anyone had heard him, but no one was paying attention. "Peeta!"

"What? I'm a teenage guy, I can't help myself." He grinned.

I playfully slapped him on the arm. "You're so bad!"

His eyes glinted with mischief. "Only when I'm with you baby."

My heart began to beat faster at what he was saying to me. The thought of being 'bad' with him thrilled me, causing my nerve endings to tingle in desire. I didn't know what it was about him, but I just couldn't seem to get enough.

After we were done swimming, it was getting to get later into the evening. Peeta's family had started a bonfire, and we sat huddled together wrapped in towels by the fire.

It really had been an amazing day. Spending time with Peeta was great. He was funny, nice, and so attractive. I never thought that I would find anyone like him.

My body was mostly dry from the heat of the fire, but I wanted to change into my clothes and out of my damp bathing suit. "Is there somewhere I can change?"

Peeta nodded and took my hand. "Yeah, you can change in the bathroom. I'm going to go get changed as well."

He led my back into the house and to the upstairs bathroom. "Here you go, if you need an extra towel there are some in the cupboard next to the sink. I'll be in my room down the hall."

I nodded and closed the door. I quickly towel dried my body so that it was completely dry and then drained the excess water from my hair over the sink.

Once I was done getting dressed, I left the bathroom and went to find Peeta.

I caught him coming out of his room. "Oh hey."

He smiled. "You want to see my room?"

The thought of being in Peeta's bedroom with him, alone, both thrilled and frightened me at the same time. "Uh, yeah. Sure."

He opened the door back up and I walked into his room with him. The walls were painted a nice medium blue that almost matched the color of his eyes. He had a full-sized bed and several posters on the wall, but what caught my attention were the amazing paintings of the ocean and the woods. Then, I noticed the easel and painting supplies in the corner and remembered that he had told me that he liked to paint.

"Did you paint all of these?"

Peeta nodded. "Do you like them?"

"Like them? I love them! They are amazing!"

He blushed a little bit. "Thanks Katniss. Do you want to see the current one I am working on?"

"Of course!"

Peeta sauntered over to his easel and pulled a cloth up over his current painting. I felt my breath catch in my throat at the sight of the The Pier, coming to life in his painting. It was only about halfway finished, but it was absolutely beautiful. "Wow, you're really talented."

"Thank you. Did you see this part?" He motioned towards the center and I leaned closer to see two figures in the distance holding hands.

It took me a moment, but I noticed that the girl had a long, dark braid and the boy had wavy blond hair. I smiled. He had put us into his painting. "It's us!"

One corner of his mouth quirked up. "Yep, I started this right after our day at the Pier, when I couldn't keep my mind off of you."

My heart soared at his words. Just the thought of him thinking about me so much from almost the very beginning made me immensely happy. "But we didn't hold hands that night..."

He laughed. "Okay, so I messed with the details a little bit."

I laughed with him for a moment before he stopped and looked at me, seriousness in his bright eyes. "Katniss..."

"Hmm?"

He let out a deep breath. "I've never felt like this with anyone before you. I mean, I've had girlfriends before, but there is just something about you..."

I smiled. "I feel the same way."

Peeta leaned in and kissed me. I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck and began to kiss him back. His lips felt so right against mine, and when he deepened the kiss, I felt sparks igniting in my body.

He gently pushed me back onto his bed and I pulled him down with me. His lips found mine again and he swept his tongue into my mouth, igniting the fire even more.

When Peeta's lips left mine, I whimpered in disappointment. However, it was only a second before I felt his lips travel down to my neck. He placed light kisses on my pulse point before lightly nipping and then sucking on the sensitive area.

I couldn't help the small moan from escaping my mouth. "Mmm..."

He chuckled against my neck before continuing to suck and nip my skin.

His lips trailed down to my collarbone where he pulled the neckline of my shirt down a bit to continue kissing me.

I was growing impatient and I wanted to feel his lips against more of my skin, so I pushed him away a little and took off my shirt.

Peeta leaned back and his gaze flickered over me. I saw him lick his lips and I shuddered at the thought of him licking my chest again.

He brought his head back down and kissed my collarbone, and then down towards my chest. He hesitantly brought his hand up and began to trail it right below my bra. I knew that he wanted to take it off so I reached around and unclasped it.

He looked up at me and I nodded, giving him permission to take it all the way off of me. He gently slid the fabric forward and then flung it off to the side.

I knew that my breasts weren't exactly the nicest, being a bit on the small side, but Peeta didn't seem to mind.

"Wow, so beautiful," he muttered as his hands came down on them and lightly began to squeeze.

When his fingers traced my nipple, I let out a whimper of pleasure, and when he bent down to take it into his mouth, I forgot how to breath. The only thing I could think about was the intense pleasure that he was providing me.

All of the sudden, the door to his bedroom flung open.

I shrieked and covered myself with a pillow.

It was Ryan. "Oh...so what do we have here?"

Peeta glared at his brother. "Get out!"

I was mortified. Ryan might have seen me topless and he caught Peeta and I in quite the compromising position.

Ryan had a strange grin on his face. "Oh this is priceless...little bro is trying to get it on while our entire family plus half of the neighborhood is outside looking for him."

I saw Peeta's face turn red in both embarrassment and anger. "I'll be down in a minute, now GET OUT!"

His brother laughed. "Lock the door next time!" He shouted at us as he closed the door.

I scrambled to get dressed. "I can't believe that just happened!"

"I know, I'm sorry."

I wasn't mad at Peeta, it wasn't his fault his brother was intent on embarrassing us. "I'm not mad at you, just upset that your brother interrupted us."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. We better get back outside."

Peeta and I composed ourselves and headed back to the party, which was just winding down.

We said our goodbyes, and I gave him a chaste kiss before heading back home. As I walked back, the wind began to pick up so I hastily put my hair into my usual side braid to get it from getting into my face.

When I returned, I saw that Gale was sitting on the front porch.

"Hey Gale, what's going on?"

He looked up at me and smiled. "Just wanted to see how you were doing. Come sit by me?" He patted the seat next to him on the porch swing, directly under the light.

I sat next to him, suddenly nervous because I remembered that I had to tell him about me and Peeta. I really didn't want to, I didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"What's up?"

Gale looked at me and opened his mouth to say something. Then, he stopped and pushed a piece of hair that had escaped from my braid away from my neck.

"Katniss? Is that a hickey?"


	10. The Truth

I instinctively moved my hand to the spot where Peeta had sucked at my neck before. The skin was tender and I could tell that I did indeed have a hickey there.

"I uh, umm..." My mouth could not form the words that would break Gale's heart. I briefly considered telling him that it was a burn from a curling iron, but he knew that I never curled my hair. Besides, it wasn't fair to Gale or Peeta to lie about it.

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, it's a hickey." I glanced warily up at Gale.

He looked like I had just punched him in the face. The hurt that I saw in his normally cheery gray eyes was clear as day. He swallowed hard and whispered his next words to me. "Who is he?"

I bit my lip, I knew that Gale and Peeta knew each other and I didn't need Gale going after Peeta or anything like that. "Does it really matter?"

Gale punched his fist down on the swing, hard. "Yes it matters! I want to know who you've been fooling around with! I've cared about you for so long and you just meet some random guy and leave me in the dust?"

I flinched. I had never seen him so angry before. I couldn't meet his eyes as I mumbled Peeta's name. "Peeta Mellark."

"Don't mumble Katniss," Gale sneered at me. "Tell me who you've been fucking behind my back!"

Rage was overcoming him and it scared me. "I haven't 'fucked' anyone..."

Gale let out a deep breath. "Okay, tell me who you've been doing...whatever you've been doing with."

"Peeta Mellark," I repeated.

Gale jumped out of his seat and stands in front of me, a towering, angry being that I didn't recognize. "Peeta? The fucking baker boy?"

"Gale, please settle down. I don't want my aunt and uncle to hear us."

"Settle down? Settle down! How the hell am I supposed to settle down when the girl that I've wanted for years now goes off with some guy she barely knows!"

I knew that Gale was going to be upset, but I didn't think he would escalate to hysterics. And what was the whole 'wanted me for years' thing about? I only figured out that he liked me this summer! " Look, I'm sorry okay? But, I can't help how I feel. I only feel friendship with you, I feel more with Peeta."

Gale clenched his fists and then glared down at me. "Fine, I see how it is. Go fuck baker boy, see if I care!"

I watched him stalk off into the darkness towards his house. I didn't know what to say to him, he wasn't acting like the guy I had known since I was twelve. He was acting like a jealous boyfriend, and he wasn't my boyfriend. He acted like I had cheated on him, but I had already told him that I didn't want that kind of relationship with him...didn't I?

I thought back to when I stopped him from kissing me again. He assumed that I just wasn't ready for a romantic relationship with him. Maybe he thought that I would be soon, but that wasn't my intention. I never meant to hurt him.

I snuck into the house and raced up to my room. I felt terrible about what had happened with Gale. I looked at the mirror hanging on the wall and saw the deep red and purple hickey on my neck. If I hadn't put my hair into that braid, I doubted that Gale would have even seen it.

I flopped down onto my bed and laid there until I heard my phone buzz.

Miss you already beautiful.

A smile crept over my face as I read Peeta's text to me. I really needed a pick me up and he had perfect timing.

Miss you too. Goodnight.

Could he be any more perfect? I sighed happily, my thoughts of Gale fading and the memories of Peeta's kisses taking over.

Sweet dreams Katniss :)

Peeta was such a sweetheart. I closed my eyes and let myself dream of more kissing and the other things that Peeta and I could engage in together.

I woke up the next morning and decided that I wanted to go to the beach and relax. I hurried to put on my swimsuit and headed out.

I placed my towel and chair out and went to slather some sunscreen across my arms and legs.

"Can I help you with that?"

I jumped in surprise, but smiled when I turned to see Peeta in his wetsuit, his surfboard propped up beside him.

"Sure," I said and I handed him the tube of sunscreen.

He placed his surfboard off to the side and leaned next to me and began to apply the cream to my back. He massaged it in, and I shuddered at the feeling of his hands on my body.

When he was finished, he sat down on my towel next to me. "So I talked to Ryan after you left last night..."

Oh no, did he brother tell someone what he saw? "Oh?"

"Yeah, he didn't see your chest if you were worried about that."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Good."

Peeta continued. "I convinced him not to tell anyone what we were doing and he agreed. However, when I went back to my room later on that night, there were a bunch of condoms sitting on my bed."

I blushed. "It was Ryan right?"

"He denies it, but it had to have been him."

I nodded. If Ryan was the only one who knew, then it had to have been him.

Peeta brushed a piece of my hair away from my face and leaned over and gently kissed me.

I happily kissed him back for a moment before he broke away, smiling.

"I really enjoyed myself last night. Well, before my brother walked in on us."

I blushed again, remembering the intense pleasure that Peeta had given me. "Yeah, me too. You got a little bit out of hand though."

Peeta arched one eyebrow at me. "Oh? How so?"

I pushed my hair away from my neck and turned it towards him. He gently reached out and touched the mark that he had left on my neck.

"I see...I'm sorry about that."

"I'm not mad." And I wasn't. I was upset that Gale had to find out about us that way, but I wasn't mad that Peeta had given me the love bite to begin with.

We ended up talking some more and then kissing a little bit before an old lady suggested that we 'get a room.'

We took her up on her offer. Well, I invited Peeta to see my aunt and uncle's house.

My relatives weren't around, so I gave him the grand tour, ending with my room.

He studied the room, inspecting knickknacks and smiling at the paintings on my wall before sitting on my bed. "I like your room."

I smiled and sat next to him. "Thanks, I like yours too."

Peeta turned towards me and kissed me. I immediately pulled him down with me to lie on the bed, kissing him back.

All of the negative thoughts that had been plaguing me ceased to exist the moment that his lips were on mine. The world faded away, leaving us and the feeling that he was giving me as the only things that existed in the whole world.

I deepened our kiss, gliding my tongue to meet his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him as close to me as I could.

I felt his hands slide over my swimsuit, grazing my breasts. I moaned lightly, then flipped us over so that I was straddling him. I was going to give him a sexy strip tease. Well, as sexy as I could make it considering I wasn't very experienced. However, when I leaned forward a bit, I felt his hardness pressing into me.

I don't know why it surprised me that he was so turned on. I was pretty aroused myself. However, actually feeling the evidence of his arousal caused my mind to think of two things. The first thought was wondering if he had brought any of those condoms with him. The other thought was that my aunt and uncle would probably be home at any moment and I didn't need them to walk in on us like Peeta's brother had.

I removed myself from Peeta and flopped onto the bed next to him.

"What's wrong?" He was panting a bit, but didn't look upset, just concerned.

I shook my head. "As much as I would like to continue this, my aunt and uncle are probably going to be home any minute."

Peeta nodded. "It's okay. Hey, I wanted to ask you something. Delly is having a party in a couple of days. Her parents will be out of town for the night and she said that you can come with me if you want."

I smiled at him. "Sure, sounds good."

Peeta and I shared a brief kiss before heading back downstairs before my aunt and uncle came home.


	11. Too Much

My aunt and uncle ended up coming back and saw Peeta and me when we were just about to leave the house.

"Oh, umm…hi. This is Peeta."

My aunt and uncle smiled. And they shook his hand.

"We've met already, remember?"

I nodded at my aunt. That was right, they knew him. I relaxed a little bit. "Right. Well, he's my boyfriend now."

My aunt grinned at us. "How nice! It's great to see you again Peeta!"

He blushed slightly. "Thanks, you too."

My relatives were happy about me dating a nice boy like Peeta. At least, that's what they told me after he left that day.

I was glad that they were okay with it.

The next day around noon, I got a phone call from Peeta.

"I had something interesting just happen to me."

Something interesting? I was intrigued to find out more. "Oh? Like what?"

"Well, I'm working today, I'm on my lunch break now, but just a little while ago, while I was working on the register, I had a very interesting customer."

Peeta wasn't making any sense. Why would he call me about a customer at work? "Umm…okay."

He sighed heavily. "It was Gale Hawthorne."

Shit. Gale had come to the bakery? I wasn't sure I wanted to know what happened between them. "Oh boy…"

Peeta's voice held a harsh tone that I had never heard him use before. "Yeah, he came in and I greeted him like every other customer. That's when I saw the rage in his eyes. He came right over to me and almost pulled me over the front counter by my shirt collar."

I gasped. I didn't expect Gale to get so violent. "I'm sorry."

Peeta continued. "I got him to let go, but when I asked what the hell he was thinking, he wanted to know why I stole his girlfriend."

His girlfriend? I was never Gale's girlfriend! "I'm not his girlfriend and I never was."

"I know that. I could tell that his feelings were one-sided. He said that he has liked you forever and it wasn't fair for me to just waltz in and steal you away from him."

I groaned. "Do I even want to know what else he said?"

Peeta sighed again. "Probably not, but I feel like you should know. He said that you guys kissed a couple of times…"

Fuck. Gale was really messing things up for me. "I'm not going to lie to you, that's true. However, it was before we had started dating and it made me realize that I only liked him as a friend."

"I believe you. I told him that I was sorry, but that you and I were dating now and that I hoped he would respect your wishes and back off."

I flinched. I knew that Gale probably had a fit when Peeta had said that. "What did he say to that?"

"He said I was a prick for stealing you and that he hoped that I would use a condom when we fucked so that I didn't give you any of my STDs or impregnate you with my bastard children."

Wow, Gale had really gone off the deep end! "Ouch. For what it is worth, I don't think you have STDs or anything…"

Peeta gave a humorless laugh. "I don't. Anyway, my dad came out and told Gale to either buy something or leave, so he left."

"I'm so sorry about that Peeta. He was sitting on my porch when I got back from your grad party on Saturday. He saw the hickey on my neck so I told him that we were together. He didn't take it too well."

"Yeah, I can see that. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you what happened. I'm not upset with you or anything."

I sighed in relief. I was glad that Peeta understood that nothing was going on between me and Gale.

After we got off the phone, I kind of wanted to go find Gale and yell at him for confronting Peeta like that. However, I figured that that would only make matters worse so I let it go.

A few days later, it was time for Delly's party. Delly lived over on Sunrise Avenue so Peeta offered to walk up to my house and take me to the party.

I was never much of a party girl, but I dressed up in a sunshine yellow sundress and white sandals. I let my hair loose down my back where it laid in small waves.

Peeta came to get me at six and we walked hand in hand over to Delly's house. Her parents owned a large home, which was good because the place was already packed by the time we arrived.

The two of us weaved our way to the kitchen where we found Delly, already more than a bit tipsy from the copious amounts of alcohol around the house.

"Peeta! Katniss!" She gave us both sloppy kisses on the cheek. "You guys look great! There is beer in the keg over there and lots of other stuff for shots and mixed drinks as well. Help yourselves!"

She giggled and stumbled past us towards the living room.

I looked at Peeta and laughed. "Wow, she's drunk!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, she gets that way. Do you want something to drink? I'm gonna get a beer."

I wrinkled my nose. Beer was disgusting. I did like mixed drinks though. "I hate beer, but I'll make myself a mixed drink and meet you in the living room, okay?"

I made myself a screwdriver and met Peeta back in the living room. People were dancing, drinking, playing beer pong, and generally having a good time.

Peeta put his arm around my waist and we chatted with the other various party-goers.

After a little bit of liquid courage, we danced together. Our bodies slid up against each others in a tantalizing way, our forms melding together as one. I felt the warm heat of the alcohol mixing with the fire of desire creeping into my skin.

I would have gladly danced in our slow, seductive manner for hours, but a bunch of Peeta's friends felt the need to talk to him.

Angry, I stalked off and made myself another drink, which slowly turned into another drink, and another. I wasn't much of a drinker, so the alcohol quickly began to take its toll on my mind and body.

I sauntered back over to Peeta, who was finally free again. I was feeling good, very good. The alcohol made me feel frisky, so I wrapped my arms around Peeta's neck and pulled him to me for a kiss.

He tasted like beer, but I was too far gone to care very much. I rubbed myself against him and nibbled his earlobe softly before whispering to him. "Let's go upstairs."

Peeta pulled back and looked at me, the lust evident in his eyes. I thought he was going to refuse, but he just swallowed hard and nodded, taking my hand and leading my upstairs.

Delly's house was so large that there were a few guest bedrooms on the second floor. Peeta led my over to one and I stumbled my way to the bed, pulling him down with me.

Peeta was breathing hard as I kissed him passionately, my hands roaming down to his chest.

He broke away for a moment and looked down at me. "Katniss! What's gotten into you?"

My alcohol induced lust for him answered that I was hoping that he would be getting into me, but somehow I filtered that out. "You're so…so hot."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss me again. I felt my entire body burn with desire for him. I was hot, too hot, and I needed to alleviate that.

I pulled away from Peeta and lifted my dress over my head and flung it onto the floor.

Peeta's eyes dilated in desire as he took in my body, clad in only my strapless bra and panties.

Before he could do anything else, I tugged off his shirt and threw it beside mine on the floor.

We came together again, kissing so hard that our teeth clicked together. I wanted him so much, and I could feel that he wanted me too.

I moaned as he lips trailed down to my chest. Peeta quickly removed my bra and began to kiss my breasts, pausing to suck lightly on my nipple.

I cried out at the pleasure that he was creating for me. But I wanted more. I wanted him and all of him right at that moment.

If I wasn't so drunk, I might have thought more about my actions, but my mind was foggy about everything but wanting Peeta, in every way possible.

I broke off our kiss and gave him a sexy smile. I traced my hand down his chest and abdomen until I got to the bulge in his pants. I lightly grazed my hand over it and I heard Peeta gasp.

Taking that as a good sign, I unbuttoned his pants and slowly began to slide my hand under the waistband and into his boxers.

Suddenly, he caught my hand in his, stopping me. "Katniss…what, what are you doing?"

My lips curved upwards into a smile. "Well, I'm trying to have sex with you…"

Peeta forced my hand away from his pants and frowned. "You're drunk."

I wasn't sure what his point was. "So? Doesn't change the fact that I want you, and I know you want me too." I let my gaze flicker knowingly to the bulge still evident through his pants.

Peeta sighed and buttoned up his pants and threw his shirt back on. "I do want you, but not like this. Not when you are drunk and I am buzzed."

I looked at him in shock, my mind only registering his rejection. "You don't want to fuck me?"

He flinched. "No, I don't want to 'fuck' you. Someday, I would like to make love to you, but we aren't ready for that yet, and I will not take advantage of you while you are drunk."

I was pissed. He was rejecting me, telling me that he didn't want me. I put on my bra and dress and when he tried to reach for me, I yanked my arm away from him.

"Katniss…"

"Don't! You don't want me? Then fine! I'll find my own way home!"

"Katniss, wait!"

I didn't listen to him, I just ran out of the house and back down the street, tears streaming down my face. What was wrong with me? Was I too ugly for Peeta to want me? My mind swarmed to make sense of what just happened, but all I could hear was Peeta rejecting me, over and over again.

I just wanted someone to want me, to tell me how attractive I was and prove it to me physically. So I went to the one person that I knew would give me what I wanted.

Gale.


	12. Falling Apart

I stumbled my way down the road towards Gale's house. I was intent on finding someone who wanted me, since Peeta clearly did not. I was so hurt and confused. I just needed to release the tension that I felt growing inside of me.

When I approached Gale's house, I saw that his car was the only one in the driveway. Well, lucky me.

I called Gale on my cell phone, being careful not to slur my words.

"Katniss?"

"Gale! I'm outside, let me in okay?"

He paused before saying anything back. "Umm, sure…hang on a moment."

I hung up my phone and straightened my dress. A minute later, Gale opened the door.

I gave him a sly smile, trying to look seductive.

He seemed taken aback by my actions. "What…what's going on?"

"Is anyone else here?" I had to make sure that we were alone.

He gulped. "Uh, no, but what is this all about?"

"Shut up," I told him before throwing myself into his arms and pressing my lips against his.

He tried to say something to me, but his words were muffled by my mouth. I pushed Gale down onto his living room sofa and continued my assault on his lips.

He moaned and kissed me back, and I knew that I had him.

Wanting more, I hastily lifted his shirt over his head. He helped me with its removal, and then reached for my dress.

I stripped out of the dress and crawled back into his lap. He pulled me down to him, kissing me forcefully.

I kept waiting for it. I kept waiting for the fire and the rush of excitement to wash over me the way that it always did when I was with Peeta, but it never came.

Instead, my stomach lurched and pulled away from Gale just in time to vomit on the floor beside the sofa.

"What the hell? Are you drunk?"

I wiped off my mouth with the back of my hand and glared at Gale. "What do you think?"

He looked at me in disgust. "I knew you tasted like alcohol. What the fuck has gotten in to you?"

I couldn't answer him. I was disgusted with myself. I was drunk and my mind was swarming. I couldn't keep my thoughts straight. "Shut up, you liked it."

"Yeah, up until you decided to puke all over the carpet! What about baker boy?"

Baker boy? Oh, fuck! Peeta! I groaned. "Ugh…"

Gale smirked. "What? He isn't doing it for you or something?"

I shook my head. "This was…a mistake."

"You should have thought about that before you threw yourself at me!"

I buried my face in my hands and dressed quickly. I ran out of his house as fast as I could in my drunken state. I ended up tripping in the gravel of my relatives' driveway, the sharp stones cutting into my knee.

I stumbled my way into the house and upstairs to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and bandaged my knee before collapsing onto my bed.

 

I woke up the next morning, my head throbbing in pain. I tried to lift myself off of my bed, but found my body to be too heavy to lift at that moment. I noticed that my knee had a bandage on it and I wondered what had happened to me.

I reached for my phone, and found about a dozen missed phone calls and texts, all from Peeta.

Peeta. My fuzzy mind searched for what exactly had gone on last night. All that I could remember was going to a party at Delly's, having way too much to drink, making out with Peeta, and then running back home.

I couldn't remember anything else. I tried to search my mind for the remaining memories of what had happened to me, but the more that I tried to remember, the more my head screamed in pain.

I really wanted to know why I had run out on Peeta, what had happened to me? That was seriously the last time that I was ever going to drink that much. It was so not worth it.

I called Peeta, determined to figure out what had happened between us.

"Peeta?"

"Oh my God! Katniss! Are you okay? I tried calling you like twenty times!"

I sighed. "I'm fine, a bit hung over, but fine."

I heard him sigh in relief. "I'm so sorry Katniss. I should have followed you outside, but some guys stopped me and convinced me that you needed some time alone."

"Peeta, I uh…don't really remember much of what happened last night."

He didn't say anything for a moment. "Oh, well…you were really drunk. We were making out and you, umm…"

Oh God, what had I done? "I what?"

"You tried to put your hand down my boxers. I stopped you because I didn't want to go that far when we were both under the influence of alcohol."

I felt my face burn with embarrassment. It wasn't like me to get so…forward with a guy. "I'm so sorry, I…I didn't know what I was doing."

Peeta sighed again. "I know, and that's why I couldn't let you continue, but then you got so angry and just ran off. I should have run after you."

"No, it's my fault. Can we just put this behind us?"

"Yes, let's pretend it never happened."

Peeta had forgiven me. I was getting a second chance and I didn't want anything to mess it up.


	13. When It Rains

After the near disaster with Peeta, I had almost forgotten that Prim had gotten a week of from camp and was coming for a visit.

I was excited to see my little sister again. We had always been very close growing up, and I missed having her at our aunt and uncle's house with me.

When I saw her smiling face, I raced towards her. "Prim!"

I hugged her, thankful to be able to see her again.

She withdrew herself from my arms. "I missed you! What have you been up to?"

Ha, that was a loaded question! I decided to fill her in later on that night. I needed someone to talk to about my boy troubles, someone besides my aunt, who I really couldn't tell anything of sexual nature to.

Not that Prim should know much about sex, but I was more comfortable confiding in her than my aunt.

"I'll tell you later."

She lifted one eyebrow at me. "Oh? That interesting?"

I laughed lightly. "Something like that."

When Prim had been settled into her room, I told her everything that had happened with Peeta and Gale.

"Jeez Katniss, I leave you alone for one summer and look at all of the trouble you get yourself into!"

I sighed. "I know, I know. This has been one crazy summer so far! I think that everything has mostly calmed down now though. Gale knows I want to be with Peeta and Peeta has forgiven me for my drunken actions towards him."

Prim smiled. "Well, that's good. Have you seen Rory lately?"

Rory was Gale's little brother. He was Prim's age and I knew that she had a crush on him. "No, I haven't seen him, but I'm sure he would like to see you." I nudged her on the shoulder teasingly.

She blushed. "Maybe I will go over there later on."

Prim ended up going over to the Hawthorne house right after dinner. I really hoped that Rory returned her feelings. I didn't want to see my little sister hurt.

My phone rang, and I smiled when I saw that it was Peeta.

"Hey Peeta."

"Hi beautiful, you busy?"

I smiled. I liked when he called me beautiful. "Nope."

"Wanna come over?"

"Sure, I'll be there soon."

I let my hair out of the braid to fall down my back and slipped on my sandals before heading to Peeta's house.

I walked swiftly down the road and knocked on the door to his house.

Peeta answered the door, and immediately pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

I was surprised, but quickly recovered enough to kiss him back.

"So… no hard feelings about what happened between us, right?"

I nodded. "It was my fault anyway."

Peeta shook his head. "I just…let's go upstairs and talk, okay?"

"Okay, sure."

I followed Peeta upstairs to his bedroom, wondering what he couldn't say downstairs.

I sat down on his bed, running my hand over the bedspread idly. Peeta closed the door behind me and turned the lock.

I looked up at him in shock.

He smirked. "Umm…Ryan is here. I didn't want him listening to our conversation, or barging in my room."

I nodded, wondering what exactly Peeta was planning after our talk. "So…you were saying?"

He sat down next to me on his bed and took my hand in his. "I feel bad about what happened between us. I need you to understand something."

"What's that?"

He sighed. "I didn't stop you because I didn't want you, because I did, I really did. I stopped you because I didn't want to do something like that with you when you were drunk. I didn't want you to do something that you would regret later on."

Peeta was the sweetest guy I had ever met. I leaned over and hugged him. "Thank you for clearing that up for me. You are too good for me."

He chuckled. "It is you that is too good for me."

Our lips met in a fiery kiss, full of passion and longing. I pushed Peeta down onto his bed and straddled him, trailing my lips down his neck and gently nipping at the skin there.

"Mmm…Katniss."

I took his moans as a sign to continue, so I lifted his shirt up over his head and continued to kiss down to his collarbone and chest.

I was going to continue down to his abs, but before I could, he flipped us over so that he was the one on top of me. I looked into his eyes, noticing the blue irises darken in arousal.

He licked his lips, and I reached out to pull him flush against me. However, Peeta had ideas of his own. He caught my hands and placed them above my head. Then, he gently lifted off my shirt and threw it onto the floor.

He hands went immediately reached around me to undo my bra and tug it from my body.

A rush of desire flowed through me as Peeta's fingers brushed over my nipples. I wanted more, more touching, more everything.

"Please…touch me."

He looked down at me in confusion. "I am touching you."

I shook my head. Although I was enjoying what he was doing, that wasn't where I wanted him to touch me. "No," I grabbed his hand and placed it gently between my thighs. "I want you to touch me here."

I heard him take a sharp intake of breath, his hand frozen between me. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, touch me please."

He nodded and moved his hand up to where my jeans met my waist. Peeta slowly unbuttoned my jeans and then unzipped them. I thought that he would just take them off of me, but instead, he slipped his hand underneath and into my panties.

A moment later, I felt his fingers brush up against my folds. I gasped; the sudden pleasure taking over me.

He had just begun to explore me when my phone rang, the shrill sound making me jump.

"Fuck!" I found my phone and answered it. "What!?"

"Katniss?" It was Prim, and she sounded really upset.

I put my anger at the interruption aside. "What's wrong?"

Prim sniffled. "Can you come home please?"

"I'll be there as soon as possible."

I hung up and turned to Peeta, who looked concerned. "I have to go, that was Prim."

"Prim? I thought your sister wasn't here?"

"She just came. She has a week off of camp."

He nodded. "It's okay Katniss. I'll come see you tomorrow."

I smiled; Peeta was so sweet not to be upset. I got dressed and then gave him a quick kiss before heading back home.

By the time I arrived, Prim was bawling her eyes out. I ran over and took her into my embrace, rocking her gently. "Shh…it's gonna be okay."

She sniffled. "I…I went over and Rory wasn't there."

Okay, so why was she so upset? "Why the tears? What happened?"

"Vick saw me while I was waiting for Rory, and he…he told me not to bother 'cause Rory didn't like me!"

I could have killed Vick for saying that! Vick was another Hawthorne sibling, one that wasn't always very nice. "Vick doesn't know what he is talking about."

Prim wiped her tears off of her face. "He said that Rory told him he didn't like me!"

I sighed. "Vick is an idiot. I think you should talk to Rory yourself before you jump to any conclusions."

A knock on the door startled me. I walked over and opened it to reveal Gale.

"Can I help you?" I wasn't thrilled that I had to deal with Gale.

"I heard what Vick said to Prim."

Prim had come up behind me and heard what Gale had said. "Is it true?"

Gale shook his head. "Vick is lying. Rory likes you Prim. He just got home, why don't you go see him?"

A happy smile appeared on Prim's face as she bounded back over to see Rory.

I gave Gale a small smile. I was thankful for him making my sister feel better. "Thank you."

"You're welcome Catnip. Can we talk?"

I nodded and then stepped outside to talk with him. "What's going on?"

"I've been thinking…"

I arched one eyebrow up at him. Where was he going with this? "And?"

He leaned closer to me. "And…we should really be together."

I backed away from him. I couldn't believe that he was really going to try to get with me again. "Gale, we've discussed this…"

"I know, but after the other night when I saw you, I just couldn't stop thinking about how good we could be together."

I had no clue what he was talking about. "What?"

He stepped closer to me again. "You know, that night when you were drunk? The night you puked everywhere?"

I shook my head. I still couldn't quite remember that night. I certainly didn't remember seeing Gale that night. "I don't remember much of anything that happened that night."

"Oh? How interesting. Anyway, I don't understand why you won't just give us a chance."

I rolled my eyes at him in annoyance. "Look, I only see you as a friend. Besides, I'm with Peeta."

I saw Gale's eyes glitter in anger. "What the hell does he have that I don't? I bet my dick is bigger than his!"

I looked at him in shock. "What's gotten into you? I don't care whose dick is bigger, I want to be with Peeta!"

Gale's face softened a bit. "I'm sorry; I just really like you Katniss. I've liked you for a long time, and it's difficult for me to see you with somebody else."

I sighed. I didn't want to hurt Gale. "I know, and I'm sorry."

Gale pulled me into his embrace and before I could stop him, he swooped down and kissed me full on the mouth.

I was literally a millisecond away from pushing him away when I heard something behind me.

"Katniss?"

I whipped around to see who was calling my name.

It was Peeta.


	14. It Pours

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Peeta had seen Gale kiss me! I only hoped that he had heard that I didn't want Gale, that I wanted him.

"Peeta! What are you doing here?" The moment that those words came out of my mouth, I regretted them. I made myself look and sound guilty.

Peeta flinched. "Well, I came to give you this." He tossed my cell phone at me and I caught it. "You left it on my bed."

I heard Gale growl under his breath at Peeta's words.

"Thank you. Look, whatever you think you just saw…"

He cut me off. "I know what I saw. I saw you kissing Gale, after you told me that there was nothing going on between you!"

Fuck, Peeta apparently had only seen the kiss. I tried to reason with him. "There is nothing going on! I swear! We…we were arguing and Gale kissed me! I was just about to push him away! Tell him Gale!"

Peeta and I looked at Gale. I silently begged him to tell the truth; to tell Peeta that the kiss was one-sided.

The stormy gray of Gale's eyes flickered with an unknown emotion, and then he smiled.

"You want the truth Peeta?"

Peeta nodded, not bothering to even look my way.

Gale smirked. "She's been fucking me behind your back."

My world began to spin as Gale's words sunk in. He had betrayed me. He lied to Peeta about us and now I had to try to rectify the situation.

Tears were forming beneath my eyelids and as I opened them, a few spilled out. "He's lying! You have to believe me!" I glanced up at Peeta and saw that his normally cheerful blue eyes were cold.

"I can't believe you would do this to me, but…but I just saw the evidence right in front of my face. I hope you're happy with him…"

Without even a glance in my direction, Peeta began to stalk off.

"Peeta, wait!"

"Save it Katniss, we're through." He didn't even turn around to say those last words, just continued down the road towards his house.

I couldn't just let him get away. He meant so much to me and I couldn't lose him like that. I went to run after him, determined to make him believe me.

However, before I could go anywhere, Gale grabbed my arm, stopping me from chasing Peeta. "You're really going to chase after him? Come on, it was always meant to be me and you."

"Fuck off Gale! You lied to him!" I tried to wrench myself free from his grasp, but his hold on me was like a vise.

"Whoa there Catnip, save that feistiness for the bedroom." He winked at me.

I finally yanked my arm free, only to punch Gale in the gut, hard. "You've ruined everything!"

He doubled over in pain and I left him there while I ran off towards where I had last seen Peeta.

I looked everywhere for Peeta, but he was nowhere to be found. I decided against going to his house, instead, I figured it might be best if I let him calm down a little bit before talking to him again.

I walked back towards the house, my heart breaking more and more with every step that I took. The shock of what had just happened finally wore off, and the reality that I might have lost Peeta made the few tears that had slipped down my face earlier turn into a downpour.

I fell to my knees and sobbed. I had never cried like this over a guy…ever. I hated the feeling, like I had no control of the sobs taking over my body.

Eventually, I was able to make it back to the house. My aunt and uncle weren't there and Prim was still visiting Rory, so I locked myself in my room and flung myself onto the bed. I bunched up one of my pillows and punched it in frustration.

It didn't help. I was still so sad and angry. I was devastated over the thought of losing Peeta, but furious with Gale for lying and betraying me.

I cried into my rumpled pillow, wondering how I had gotten into such a terrible situation in the first place.

I was never one to care much about guys before. Sure I had the occasional crushes on guys back in school and the awkward spin-the-bottle kisses, but I had never truly had real feelings for a guy, not like I did for Peeta.

I hated myself for wallowing in my misery so much. It really wasn't like me at all. I was always the tough one, the one who helped my mother and Prim get through my father's death and the one who never let much of anything get to her.

I needed to make things right. I texted Peeta, hoping he would answer me.

Can we talk? Please?

I waited for ten minutes…nothing.

Gale was lying; I only want to be with you.

I waited again, and just when I thought he was completely ignoring me, I got a text back.

You should have thought about that before kissing another guy.

That wasn't the response that I was hoping for, but I decided to try again.

Please Peeta, I didn't want him to kiss me! I swear!

My text alert buzzed again.

Leave me alone.

And just like that, the tears that had finally dried up, returned in full force.

Prim came home a few minutes later, she must have heard me crying, because she banged on the door until I opened it.

"What?"

She took one look at my face and wrapped her arms around me. "Katniss, what happened?"

I explained everything that happened, not leaving out one part. When I was through, she sat down next to me on my bed and gently rubbed my back. "It's gonna be okay."

"No, it's not."

Prim sighed and just sat with me until I had calmed down.

Two days went by. I tried to call and text Peeta a few times, but he refused to answer me. Similarly, Gale tried to call and text me a few dozen times, but I wouldn't answer him. He came by the house a few times as well, but Prim shooed him away for me each time.

Finally, on the third day, I had to try to talk to Peeta again. Taking a note from Gale (even though he failed), I walked over to Peeta's house.

However, when I arrived, I noticed that Peeta's car was not there. Defeated, I started to walk back home, but then I remembered that he might be at work. I felt kind of like a stalker, but I just had to see him.

I jogged most of the way to the bakery, not even thinking about what to say to him, just that I needed to be heard.

Peeta's car was parked in the lot next to the bakery. I took a deep breath and steadied myself before heading inside.

Ryan was at the front counter, wiping off the bakery display case. He looked up when I walked in and scowled.

"You've got a lotta nerve showing up here like this."

I blinked at him. I thought that Peeta would have kept our fight a secret, but apparently not. "Can you please get him for me?"

Ryan shook his head. "No way, he doesn't want to see you."

I sighed, ready to beg. "Come on, I just want to talk to him."

Ryan glared at me warily and then reached underneath the register and pulled out a piece of folded up paper. "He said that you might come looking for him here. He told me to give you this." He thrust the paper into my hand. "Leave now."

I nodded and took the paper with me.

Somehow, I was able to make it back home before opening the paper and reading it. I sat on my bed and unfolded it gently.

Katniss,

Please stop trying to get a hold of me. I really can't handle this right now. Do you know how much it hurt me to watch you kiss Gale like that? I felt as if my heart was being torn in two. I know you say that Gale forced it upon you, but that is really not what it looked like to me. I saw him embrace you before he kissed you and it was more than just a friendly embrace. I am hurt beyond words right now. I cared so much for you. No other girl has ever made me feel that way that you did. I thought that you and I had something special, but I guess I was wrong. I can't believe that I am going to admit this to you, but I had fallen in love with you. That's right, I loved you. Wow, I guess I was a sucker to fall that quickly for someone who was messing around behind my back. Please just let this go okay? I don't want to see you or talk to you, it just hurts too much.

-Peeta

Tears spilled from my cheeks as I read his letter to me. He had been in love with me. I didn't fail to notice that he used the past tense when speaking about his love for me. Apparently, that feeling was now gone.

Reading his admission of love (even if it was in the past tense), made me realize that I had fallen in love with him as well. Maybe it was too quick, but it certainly was real.

I cried harder, knowing that I had messed up everything with the one guy who I had actually fallen for.


	15. Visitors

Time seemed to pass in slow motion without Peeta. I tried to spend time with Prim while she was still there, but she was off visiting Rory a lot and I really couldn't handle being around the two young lovebirds after what had happened to me.

Eventually, I decided that I needed to actually leave the house. Wallowing in my misery was no fun; I had to do something to distract myself.

I decided to spend some time on the beach that day. Originally, I was afraid of the possibility of seeing Peeta out on the waves, but he was no where to be found. I took out my long forgotten book and began to get lost within its pages.

A few chapters later, I saw a shadow hovering over me.

I looked up and saw Delly, of all people standing above me. "Delly?"

"Can I join you?"

Oh shit. She was one of Peeta's best friends. She was probably going to tell me what a horrible person I was for what I supposedly did to Peeta. "Umm…sure."

Delly flopped down onto the sand beside me. "I wanted to talk to you about Peeta…"

I sighed. I knew that I was in for it. "I figured as much."

She didn't start yelling like I thought she would. Instead, she gave me a sad look before continuing. "What exactly happened between you two?"

"Didn't Peeta tell you?"

She waved her hand dismissively in the air. "Yeah, yeah…something about you cheating on him with a friend of yours, but, that doesn't seem like something that you would do. I mean, when I saw you and Peeta together at his grad party, I could just tell that you two had some pretty serious feelings for each other."

I buried my face in my hands, determined not to cry in front of Delly. "I do have serious feelings for Peeta."

"What happened then?" Delly's voice came out in a soft whisper, willing me to tell my side of the story.

A few tears trickled down my cheeks as I began. "My friend Gale has been after me since I first got here. I…I tried to tell him to back off; that I wanted to be with Peeta, but he couldn't take no for an answer. P…Peeta saw Gale kiss me. I swear that I was just about to push him away! However, when I asked Gale to back me up, he lied to Peeta and said that we were fucking behind his back!"

I broke down into full on sobs after my last words.

Delly sighed and then scooted closer to me, patting my back softly. "Hey, don't cry! Would it help if I said that I believe you?"

I looked over at her. "Do you?"

She nodded. "Yes, I do. Like I said, you don't seem like the type to do that to somebody. I'll talk to Peeta about it."

I doubted that even Delly could convince Peeta that there was nothing going on between Gale and me, but it was nice of her to offer. "Okay, but I doubt he will take me back."

Delly pulled me into a short hug. "I'll talk to him; keep your head up, okay?"

I nodded. "Thanks Delly."

I really did appreciate what Delly was trying to do for me. I have to say that it did lift my spirits a little bit that one of Peeta's friends actually believed my side of the story.

After my little talk with Delly, I headed back inside the house to find Rory and Prim kissing on the couch.

I shook my head, trying not to laugh at them. Instead, I cleared my throat. "Ahem."

They sprang apart, and when Prim saw me, her face turned bright red. "Katniss! I, uh…we were just…"

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. It was the first time in days that I had laughed. "Oh, I know what you were doing! Don't worry, I won't say anything."

Prim looked relieved. "Thanks Katniss. Maybe you should get going Rory, my aunt and uncle should be home soon."

Rory nodded and left shortly afterward.

Prim and I chatted for a little while before I decided to head up to my room and relax.

I was sitting on my bed when I heard an odd tapping sound at my bedroom window. Curious, I went over to it and lifted back the curtain.

Gale was standing outside, throwing pebbles at my window again.

I opened the window. "Gale! What are you doing?"

"You never answer my texts or phone calls, so I decided to try a more direct approach."

I scowled down at him. "That's because I don't want to talk to you! Now, go away!"

He just stood there, stubborn as always. "I'm not leaving until I talk to you."

"Ugh…fine! I'll be down in a minute."

I shut the window and headed back downstairs and outside to meet Gale. I was going to be very angry if all that he wanted was to insist that we belonged together again.

Once I got over to where Gale was standing, I crossed my arms over my chest. "This better be good…"

He sighed and ran his hand through his dark brown hair. "Look, I'm not gonna lie. I still think that we belong together. However, I don't think that I realized the extent of your feelings for Peeta."

I didn't understand what he was talking about. "You're confusing me…"

"What I wanted to tell you is that I'm sorry. I thought that maybe it was just a novelty thing going on with you and Peeta or that it was just lust; and I thought that you and I could have more than that. However, now I can see that he meant so much more than that to you."

What? Gale was sorry? Well, it was a little bit too late for that now! "Yeah, he did. However, now he won't even speak to me anymore. He even wrote me a letter saying how he had fallen in love with me! He was in LOVE with me, and…and you ruined it!"

Gale frowned, and I could tell that he was upset about what he had done. "I'm so sorry Catnip. I…I never meant to hurt you."

I was livid. "You never meant to hurt me?! You never meant to hurt me?! Well, you did hurt me! And nothing that you say or do will EVER make it right!"

Gale flinched as if I had physically struck him. "Please don't say that. Even if you will never be with me they I way I want you to, at least give me hope that we can be friends again."

I shook my head. "I just can't do that right now."

I walked back into the house without another glance at my former friend.

That night, I stayed awake thinking about how messed up my life had gotten over the summer. I really just wanted things to go back to the way they were; with Peeta as my boyfriend and Gale as my friend. However, that seemed next to impossible now.

I wondered if Delly had talked to Peeta about me yet. I really didn't think that he would change his mind about me just over what his friend said. I still clung on to the now fading hope that he would believe me and that we would be together again, but as the days went on, that seemed less and less likely.

I also didn't know what to think about what Gale had told me. Was he really sorry for what he had done to me? Or was it just another ploy to get me to date him? He had seemed sincere in his apology, but I wasn't ready to forgive him quite yet, if ever.

I woke up the next morning feeling just as confused as I had the previous night. I didn't even want to lift myself out of bed and face the day.

However, Prim somehow convinced me to get up and help her get ready for her date with Rory. Things between the two of them had been going very well, and I was really happy for my little sister.

I helped her to pick out an outfit and even attempted to curl her hair for her. She was just getting finished when the doorbell rang.

"Can you get that please? I want to find my lip gloss."

I nodded and went downstairs to greet Rory. He was a nice boy, unlike how Gale seemed to be as of late, all apologies aside.

I swung open the door, ready to tell Rory that Prim would be down in a minute.

However, it wasn't Rory…


	16. You and Me

I stood there, still in shock, for what seemed like hours. It had to have been only a few seconds though.

"Katniss?"

I blinked up at the person standing before me. "Peeta?"

What was he doing here? I swore that he told me that he never wanted to see or speak to me ever again. What changed his mind?

He opened his mouth to say something, but Prim chose that moment to come bounding over to the door, obviously expecting to see Rory waiting for her. "Hey Ro…" Her voice died off as she saw that it was Peeta, not Rory who was at the door.

"Prim, this is Peeta. Peeta, this is my sister Prim."

Peeta smiled and leaned down to shake Prim's hand. "Nice to meet you."

My sister's eyes narrowed; obviously remembering how the guy standing before her had recently broken my heart. She let out a terse reply. "You too."

I looked at Prim, silently begging her to leave us alone for a moment. She nodded in our direction and slinked back off into the house.

I turned back to Peeta. "What do you want?"

He bit his lip and then sighed. "I came to talk to you."

"I thought you never wanted to talk to me or see me again."

He looked down at me sadly. "Yeah, I know what I said. However, I've had a change of heart. Can we take a walk and discuss it?"

I briefly considered telling him to fuck off. I was still so hurt by what had happened between us, but I decided to give him a chance to explain why he had sought me out. "Okay."

Peeta looked relieved. We headed out to the beach and walked in silence for about a minute before I couldn't take it anymore. "Tell me why you came to see me."

"I…I think that I was wrong."

"Wrong about what?"

He paused and turned towards me. "About you, and uh…what I thought I saw."

I shook my head. He was confusing me. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

Peeta nodded, taking a deep breath before he began. "When I saw Gale kiss you, my heart broke into a million pieces and I couldn't think straight. All I could seem to think was that you cheated on me and that you didn't feel the same way about me as I did about you."

"But…"

He held up his hand to silence me. "Please, let me continue. I wasn't thinking rationally, and when Gale said that you two were umm…sleeping together, I lost it. I told myself that I couldn't be with someone who would willingly do that to me, no matter how much I cared for her. That's why I told you to leave me alone; I couldn't handle my feelings, especially with you around me."

I nodded. "But why seek me out now?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his wavy blond hair. "Like I said before, I think that I was wrong. You see, I had not one, but two visitors earlier today at the bakery."

So Delly had decided to talk to him about us, but who was the other visitor? "Delly came to see you? Who else?"

"Yes, Delly came to see me and told me how she had talked to you and thought that I was overreacting, and that you were telling the truth. I wanted to believe her, but I was still too hurt."

I figured Delly's influence could only go so far. "Then what happened? Who else came to see you?"

"Gale did."

Gale? Gale came to see Peeta? I got a sudden mental picture of Gale and Peeta throwing punches at each other, but Peeta looked unhurt. "Oh no…what did he want?"

Peeta sat down on the sand and motioned for me to join him. I sat next to him, awaiting his response. "Well, when I first saw him come into the bakery, I almost called the cops. However, He convinced me that all he wanted was to talk to me, so I took an early lunch break."

"What…what did he say?"

Peeta continued. "He told me that you two had been friends for a long time, and how he had fallen for you. He said that when you first came here this summer, that he had tried to start something more with you, but that you didn't seem to be taking it the way that he had hoped you would. Gale said that when he found about us, that he was furious. He wanted you for himself and when the opportunity presented itself for him to break us up; he took it."

I couldn't believe that Gale had told Peeta all of that. "Wow…"

"And that's not all. He also told me how he came to you last night to try to apologize, and you told him that he had ruined everything between us. He said that he could tell that you really cared for me, and that nothing that he could do would ever change that. He apologized to me Katniss. He told me that if I still had feelings for you, that I shouldn't let someone as amazing as Katniss Everdeen get away from me."

I took a deep breath, trying to process all of the information that Peeta had just told me. Gale had actually apologized to Peeta and explained everything; he was trying to make it better. "What does this mean for us?"

Peeta's lips curled upwards, almost into a smile. "It means that I don't want to let you go."

I felt twin emotions hit me simultaneously. I felt both angry and relieved at the same time. I was angry because if Peeta would have just believed me in the first place, then none of this would have ever happened. However, I was also relieved that he now knew the truth.

I wasn't quite ready to forgive him. I stood up again, yelling down at him. "How could you not believe me? You…you broke my heart! And for nothing!"

Peeta looked taken aback, but got up to face me again. "Katniss…I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I just knew that I felt betrayed and heartbroken. I thought that the first girl that I ever fell in love with had cheated on me. Please forgive me."

I looked up at him. His clear blue eyes were full of unshed tears; and I knew how sorry he really was. Plus, he had mentioned that whole 'falling in love' thing again. "You really hurt me a lot, but I do forgive you. However, if you honestly still love me, you need to learn how to trust me."

"I do! I do trust you! I was an idiot, please Katniss…I love you…"

He was rambling, so I decided to shut him up by placing a firm kiss to his lips. He words immediately ceased as my lips found his. He made a small noise of surprise before wrapping his arms around me and kissing me back.

I had missed his kisses so much. No one had ever made me feel so alive. My heart sung with joy and all of the emotions bubbling up inside of me. There was one pressing one, which needed to be spoken.

I broke off our kiss and smiled up at him. "I love you too."

The grin that broke out on Peeta's face was beautiful and full of love. He leaned down and kissed me, immediately deepening it and wrapping me tightly into his embrace.

A seagull squawked overhead, bringing me to the realization that we needed to go somewhere more private if we wanted to continue our current activities.

We laughed and I tugged him back to the house. It was vacant now that Prim had gone off with Rory and my aunt and uncle were out as well.

I led Peeta up to my room and as soon as I had closed the door, his lips were on mine again. I pulled him over to my bed and we fell onto it. We were desperate to feel each other, desperate to block out the past few days of unhappiness.

"I missed this so much," he said as he trailed his lips down to my neck.

I smiled, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of his lips on my body once again. "Me too."

When Peeta's lips traveled lower, I stopped him and pulled my shirt over my head. He followed suit with his and I sighed as our skin, flushed with desire, came into contact.

I could feel his heart beating rapidly beneath my palm as I slid my hand down his chest and over his abdominal muscles.

Peeta moaned lightly and fell to the side, allowing me further exploration of his upper body.

Feeling bold, I ghosted my fingers down lower, to the waistband of his shorts. I waited for him to stop me, but he didn't.

I unbuttoned his shorts and slowly slid the zipper down. Again I waited, expecting him to stop me. However, all that I could hear was the sharp intake of breath that he took.

I slid his shorts off of his body and tossed them over the side of my bed. Then, I sat back on my heels and took in the sight of the attractive male lying in my bed in only dark gray boxer shorts.

I started at his head and took in his flushed face, eyes closed, breathing labored. Then, I went down to his chest, where I could see each intake of breath as it traveled to his lungs. I let my gaze linger at the impressive, but not overly defined muscles of his chest and abs, before trailing lower to his groin. His boxers were tented, his arousal evident beneath the dark fabric.

I felt my own heart thudding loudly in my chest. I wanted him, I wanted all of him. He was so magnificently beautiful, in the manly way of course. I probably would have stayed there all day, practically drooling over him, but I noticed that his blue eyes fluttered open and were staring at me.

"Katniss? What are you doing?"

I looked into his eyes and smiled. "Just admiring the view."

Peeta smirked. "I want to admire the view as well."

"Well, there's a mirror right over there," I joked.

He scowled at me. "Not what I meant. I want to admire your body as well."

I nodded; I had only been teasing him. I got up off the bed and pulled my pants off, leaving me just as exposed as he was.

"Bra too." Peeta licked his lips and nodded towards my chest.

I obliged, unclasping my bra and sliding it off of my body. Now we were both left in only our underwear, and I wanted him more than ever.


End file.
